Life near the fast lane
WHAT IT’S LIKE WHEN YOUR HOME IS IN THE SHADOW OF THE M4
Little Benty is a small cul-de-sac in West Drayton, which sits just yards from one of Britain’s busiest motorways.
The line of trees and a small, metal fence hidden within them are all that separate residents from the M4.
Connecting London with South Wales, while passing the likes of Slough, Reading, Swindon and Bristol, West Drayton is not the destination for most drivers on the motorway but just another blur of trees and houses.
For the residents who live in Little Benty and surrounding roads, though, the motorway is a big part of their lives.
But it is one they have learnt to live with.
Jules Holt, 75, has lived on Lupin Close, just off Little Benty, for about 30 years.
The pollution from the motorway concerns him but he points out that he still enjoys living there.
He said: “The M4 is notorious for the prevailing westerly winds that are blowing all the rubbish and everything else out from Reading down the motorway and straight into London. That affects us here.
“You can tell that by the dust, it’s not white dust, it is black. You just run your finger along something, it comes up black and white. That’s carbon from the motorway.”
Although the homes’ double glazing keeps out the majority of the noise, a hum serves as a constant reminder that the M4 is just metres away.
Speaking on a dry, hot day, Jules said: “You can hear it now but on a wet day it roars.”
There are plans to make the M4 a “smart motorway”, which means the hard shoulder will be used as an extra lane.
Jules said: “We don’t know what the total pollution from all these ‘improvements’ will be and if it becomes over-polluted then these houses will [have to] be demolished. And it won’t be for people not wanting to live here.
“It’ll be the government saying you can’t live here. Compensation is going to be rubbish. They’re not going to do a like for like somewhere else.”
Roy Fox, 81, has lived on Little Benty for 52 years. He grew up around West Drayton and reckons his family have been around the area for 500 years.
As he puts it, “I’m from the area, through and through”.
He remembers what it was like before the motorway was even built.
“We used to roam all round here,” he said. “When I was 10, 11,12 we used to play and even swam in the river all the time.
Skylarks have a distinctive but quiet song. Even if the bird could still be found here you wouldn’t be able to hear them over the roar of the road.
“When it came in, it was just concrete and no trees,” Roy said. “Can you imagine the noise [when there were no trees]?”
Mary Ntamark moved to Little Benty four years ago because she wanted her family to get a place near London with an easy commute into the city.
She has two children, twins, and worries constantly about the effect of the pollution on them.
Mary told MyLondon: “I am concerned. I’m actually moving out of here really soon. My daughter is asthmatic, and living in this area doesn’t help a lot.”
Whenever they go out for the day, her first thought is to get the kids away to somewhere with cleaner air.
She added: “We don’t spend a lot of time here, to be honest.
“At the weekends, we go somewhere cleaner and further from where we live. So that’s a disadvantage of living here, because you really don’t want to stay around here.”
Selling the house will likely prove difficult, though, if warnings given by other local residents are anything to go by.
Runway
Across the motorway is a huge section of land earmarked for the third runway at Heathrow. On top of the inevitable noise pollution, there are concerns about how pollution from extra planes will add to the pollution from the passing cars.
Dave Robertson, 50, has lived on Little Benty for 16 years.
The impact of Heathrow’s expansion will influence whether he stays in the area much longer.
He said: “Well, we just have to wait and see when this third runway comes to see if it encroaches on us? If it gets too bad then, yeah, I think we would have to move.
“But the problem is when you’re moving, you’ve got to know where you’re going and about your children in schools. All that sort of stuff, you know. It’s a lot to worry about.”
His thoughts on the noise from the M4?
‘If you want the windows open you can hardly sleep’
“Good windows keep most of the noise out but at nighttime, in this weather, when you want the windows open you can hardly sleep,” he said.
Chuckling to himself, he added: “But the motorway was here before I bought this place so I can hardly complain.”
For Dave the area brings some big advantages, which balance the downsides.
He explained: “I can get in the car and be in the airport in 10 minutes. I can be in Slough, Hounslow or Uxbridge in 15 to 20 minutes.
“Schools are local. Down in West Drayton you have got the railway station. It’s good for travelling out.”
Rob Barnstone, 26, stays in Little Benty when he’s working in London. But he knows the area well as he moved here eight years ago to study.
For him the noise isn’t too much of an issue.
He said: “The motorway is obviously a big pollution hot-spot but in terms of the noise, it’s just a constant sort of hum. Almost like a river.”
But, like the other residents we spoke to, he’s worried about the planned changes to the area.
Regarding the smart motorway, he said: “They’re adding another lane. It’s just going to increase the traffic. The more you build roads, the more cars are going to use them.
“I mean, in many ways, it could be what stops the airport from operating in the way it wants to. There are pollution targets that have to be met. And many of the pollution monitors around here are frequently breaking legal limits.”