M4 Smart Motorway – campaign against ‘All Lane Running’.
Highways England is planning to spend nearly a billion pounds widening the M4 by using the hard shoulder and converting it to a ‘Smart Motorway’. The planned work would take place between junction 3 in London and junction 12, just west of Reading.
Highways England is applying for planning permission for the M4 as a ‘Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project‘. This means that you do not have to live in the local area to be able to register an objection – after all as a national scheme it will be your taxes paying for this if it goes ahead!
As we’ve seen from similar projects, the widening work would cause a quick increase in the traffic on both the motorway and the roads leading to it, which would in turn increase air pollution in an area that already exceeds legal limits.
The extra traffic generated by the new capacity would dump an extra 4 million tonnes of CO2 into the air over the lifetime of the road. Road experts and police are also concerned that removing the hard shoulder to make way for more traffic could make the road more dangerous.
What’s more, estimated costs for the work on this 32-mile stretch of road are £600-£900 million. That’s up to £28 million per mile – a massive cost in the face of so many public funding cuts.
Highways England is now pushing for planning permission for this project – permission they’ll need, as the project counts as a ‘Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project’. This is our chance to have a say – register now as an individual objector to record your concerns.
Registering as an interested party is quick and painless – statements have to be very short and you will be asked to give bried details of why you oppose the M4 Smart Motorway (eg the increase in traffic, noise and air pollution, reduced safety or the high cost – or all of the above), and you’re under no obligation to get involved any further.
It’s a great way to make sure your voice is heard at a key point in the planning process. Please act now before midnight on Friday 3rd July as late registrations will not be accepted.
As mentioned above, because Highways England is applying for planning permission for the M4 as a ‘Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project‘ – you do not have to live in the local area to be able to register an objection – after all as a national scheme it will be your taxes paying for this if it goes ahead!
Please take action:
1. Register your objection before 3 July. Go to the M4 Smart Motorway Scheme examination page, where you can register as an interested party or you can go directly to the registration form. To help with answering the questions, we have produced a simple guide (PDF). Worth reading before completing the registration form.
2. Please Ask colleagues, friends and members of relevant groups to register as soon as possible.
3. If you would like to get future updates on this issue please e-mail m4@readingfoe.org.uk.
If you are unable to complete a registration form online and would like to register your interest, please call the helpline on: 0303 444 5000 to request a paper form. Advice Note about Registering
Friends of the Earth Reading, national Friends of the Earth and Campaign for Better Transport have created a campaign leaflet and the artwork is available to download and print as a double-sided A5 leaflet or at A4 leaflet. Please help us publicise this campaign by downloading and circulating the leaflets and information. Thank you.
