A PRESENTATION BY `A19NAG’ FOR MEMBERS OF BILLINGHAM TOWN COUNCIL – TO CLARIFY THE AIMS AND PROGRESS OF THE BILLINGHAM A19 NOISE ACTION GROUP, IN SEEKING TO REDUCE ROAD TRAFFIC NOISE LEVELS FOR LOCAL RESIDENTS.

THE PROBLEM IS, THAT WHILE THE A19 LOOKS FINE,THE APPALLING NOISE GENERATED BY HIGH VOLUMES OF TRAFFIC, TRAVELLING AT HIGH SPEED, CAUSES MISERY FOR RESIDENTS LIVING NEAR TO THE ROAD.

THE HIGHLIGHTED AREA SHOWS WOLVISTON COURT ESTATE NEXT TO THE A19 BILLINGHAM BYPASS

AN ENLARGED VIEW OF WOLVISTON COURT NEXT TO THE A19 - Red spots indicate properties where noise monitoring has taken place

A19 BILLINGHAM BYPASS ROAD NOISE HISTORY * Billingham Bypass opened in Nov.1982, including a concrete section 4.2 km. long adjacent to Wolviston Court Estate. * By the year 2000, traffic volumes had increased to 49,000 vehicles per day. * ln 2001, a `Noise Fence’ was erected alongside properties closest to the road. - Noise levels were worse than before, due to the increase in traffic volume. * March 2003: Transport Secretary, Alistair Darling confirmed in parliament, that the concrete surface of the Billingham Bypass would be replaced by March, * By 2009, traffic on the A19 had risen to 62,000 vehicles a day: this is over 22 million vehicles a year.

* March 2009: The H.A. announced that the road would only be resurfaced when it required maintenance. That could be as long as 17 years! * Spring 2009: residents organized, and submitted two petitions, with a total of more than 1000 signatures to Frank Cook MP, objecting to the Government’s broken promises. * July 2009: DEFRA launched Draft Noise Action Plans to set out thresholds to identify “First Priority Locations'' ( FPL s) for road noise abatement, with a qualifying noise level of 76dB. * September 2009: Tim Dice of Defra, in a reply to Frank Cook MP, stated that Billingham Bypass would be classified as an ` important area * May 2010: the Coalition government, published the Noise Action Plan for the Teesside Agglomeration ( Redcar & Cleveland, Stockton and Middlesbrough) areas. Possible`First Priority Locations’ and `Important Areas’, will be revisited to verify their status between 2011 and 2012, before noise abatement programmes are agreed. * Nov.2011: Highways Agency wrote to tell A19NAG members that, the programme for the replacement of concrete road surfaces, had been discontinued.

CLOSE – UP VIEW OF THE RIBBED CONCRET SURFACE, WHICH WAS ADOPTED TO REDUCE ROAD NOISE LEVELS AND THE ONLY ONE OF ITS KIND IN THE NORTH EAST. IT HAD THE OPPOSITE EFFECT, RAISING ROADSIDE LEVELS TO 93.4dB DURING A TEST CARRIED OUT FOR THE HIGHWAYS AGENCY BY SCOTT WILSON

DIRECT LINE OF SIGHT OF THE A19 FROM KIELDER CLOSE. AN EARTH BARRIER WAS REMOVED FROM THIS SECTION IN1984, AFTER THE ROAD WAS COMPLETED, ALLOWING UNIMPEDED NOISE FLOW

THE NOISE ATTENUATION FENCE INSTALLED BETWEEN WOLVISTON COURT AND THE A19. HOWEVER IT DOES NOT EXTEND FAR ENOUGH TO THE SOUTH, WHERE THE TERRAIN FALLS BELOW THE LEVEL OF THE CARRIAGEWAY.

EUROPEAN UNION AND UK ROAD TRAFFIC LEGISLATION THE EU ENVIRONMENTAL NOISE DIRECTIVE (2002/49/EC) requires road traffic noise levels to be assessed. The Directive was implemented in the UK by the Environmental Noise (England) Regulations 2006 (SI 2006/2238), under which strategic noise maps for agglomerations ( specific urban areas) were required to be produced. The first round of strategic road maps was produced in 2007 and the second will be produced in In March 2010, DEFRA published Noise Action Plans, with associated noise maps for agglomerations, ours being that for Teesside.

THE TEESSIDE AGGLOMERATION NOISE MAP – WITH POSSIBLE FIRST PRIORTY LOCATIONS SHOWN IN BLUE

WIDER IMPLICATIONS FOR ALL BILLINGHAM RESIDENTS TRAFFIC ON THE A19 IS LIKELY TO INCREASE MARKEDLY IN THE NEAR FUTURE, WHEN:- –BOTH TYNE TUNNELS ARE IN OPERATION; –THE HOSPITAL PLANNED FOR WYNYARD IS BUILT; –RED HOUSE SCHOOL RELOCATES TO WYNYARD; –WASTE IS BEING DELIVERED TO THE OLD ANHYDRITE MINE; - PD PORTS EXPAND THEIR OPERATIONS AT TEESPORT, AS IS PROPOSED.

POSSIBLE LOCATION FOR FUTURE HOUSING DEVELOPMENT; - THE FIELD BOUNDED BY THAMES ROAD, THE A19 AND MILL LANE FOOTPATH. MAXIMUM NOISE LEVELS FOR PROPERTIES BUILT IN SUCH A LOCATION CANNOT, BY LAW, EXCEED 68dB, UNDER CURRENT LEGISLATION.

THE WAY AHEAD TO ACHIEVE THE EARLIEST REMEDIAL ACTION, THIS SECTION OF TRUNK ROAD NEEDS TO BE DESIGNATED AS A `FIRST PRIORITY LOCATION’. WHILE `A19NAG’ AND ITS SUPPORTING RESIDENTS CONTINUE TO DO ALL WE CAN TO ACHIEVE FPL STATUS, WE FEEL STRONGLY THAT WE NEED THE FORMAL BACKING OF BILLINGHAM TOWN COUNCIL AND EVENTUALLY STOCKTON BOROUGH COUNCIL, TO EXPEDITE THIS MATTER.