M1 Week: Junction 21 Widening by the BBC Submitted
by: Jim on Aug 25, 2006
Most people have used the M1 at one time or another, but probably
don’t ever think about those living in its shadow. Proposals
to widen the road to ease congestion are causing big concern
for some residents of Leicester Forest East at Junction 21...
The plans to widen the M1 have long been a topic of debate
and a thorny issue with those who live nearby.
Whilst the motorway has undoubtedly brought prosperity to
Leicester, providing easy road links to London and putting
the city on the map, it also has drawbacks to the area's residents.
The main reason for dissatisfaction among the local residents
is that they have not been given full details of how the widening
of the M1 will affect them. They say that they were told that
they'd be given information in the autumn, but when they've
questioned the council, nobody seems to know anything.
"If the road comes through we've lost our privacy, we've
lost our quiet, but nobody's telling us anything." said
one local resident They have heard that the widening will
involve building a new bridge, but they don't know if their
houses are going to have to be knocked down in the process.
They are also concerned that even if they don't have to move
house, the wider road will ruin the peace and quiet that they
enjoy at the moment.
Lynne Smith is one of the people living near Junction 21:
"We moved here five years ago, and we moved here basically
because it's a cul-de-sac and quiet. If the road comes through
here we've lost our privacy, we've lost our quietness, but
nobody's telling us anything."
BBC Radio Leicester's Ben Jackson spoke to the Project Leader
for the widening of the M1 between Junctions 21 and 30, Tony
Turton, to hear the Highways Agency's side of the story...
Tony says that he wants to allay the residents fears about
the widening of the M1. When the Highways Agency met with
the residents in May for a consultation meeting, Tony promised
the residents that he and the rest of the developers would
evaluate the other options for the motorway extension that
they suggested.
However, he says that because the residents put forward so
many options, it's taking quite a long time to go through
them, which is why the residents have not been given any information
for a while.
Tony wants to reassure them that there is no plan for the
widening the M1 yet, as the consultation process hasn't finished,
but the Highways Agency will keep the residents informed throughout.
You can have your say on the BBC website just follow the
link below
Source BBC
Website
