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Furious residents overlooking one of the country’s busiest motorways have told how they can ‘taste and smell brake fluid from trucks’ hurtling past their homes after the controversial felling of 100 trees which had screened against noise and pollution.
Local claims it is too deafening and dirty to sit in their gardens or hang washing out and are often stuck indoors which can be stifling hot.
When they brave opening their windows and doors they are hit with pungent odours from constant traffic on the M5 in the south Birmingham suburb of Quinton.
Householders are also blinded by sunlight bouncing off lorries in a ‘strobing effect.’
The ‘brutal and unnecessary’ axing of a dense row of conifers three years ago without any public consultation led to uproar amongst locals, who since launched a campaign with the support of their local MP and ward city councillor.
Before(left) and after (right) pictures showing the dramatic difference after they removed the trees protecting the houses
Furious residents overlooking one of the country’s busiest motorways have told how they can ‘taste and smell brake fluid from trucks’ hurtling past their homes after the controversial felling of 100 trees. Pictured in 2024
The National Grid said the trees had been removed due to the risk to traffic and nearby power lines as part of a joint partnership with National Highways. Pictured immediately after the felling in 2021
Melanie Davies, who is spearheading an action group, fumed: ‘What happened here is horrendous and totally unfair.’
An investigation is now underway to determine why the trees were felled, exposing households to the hazards of the motorway.
The health and safety consultant, speaking exclusively to MailOnline, said: ‘If people like me and my neighbours cut down trees, it would be an offence and we would be held to account, and be up in court.’
Some new planting has been untaken but it is low bushes against a flimsy fence, and many weeds, which do nothing to combat the noise and grime.
Preet Gill, Labour MP for Birmingham Edgbaston, said: ‘It is an absolutely shocking situation, giving that we should be planting more trees not felling trees, and for Highways to have taken a decision without any consultation.’
Ms Davies told how they had taken their grievance to the Parliamentary Health and Standards Ombudsman, who is reviewing their case, as they battle to find a solution and seek answers.
A crucial decision to determine if action against the authorities should be taken is due within weeks.
She added: ‘At the end of the month the Ombudsman is due to give an opinion to set the scene on what should be happening, or not.
‘It is horrendous living here, if you open your windows you get black dust coming in, and the noise is dreadful.
‘You might as well be standing on the local motorway bridge, it’s the same noise, and with the strobing effects you can’t enjoy being in your house or out in the garden.
‘The trees screened the motorway and looked pretty, they were very large and without them all you see is the tops of trucks.
‘I’m sick of it and it makes me angry because I can’t sit and relax in my garden and if I put the washing out it comes back dirty and smelly.’
Melanie Davies in her garden, she is spearheading an action group, and fumed: ‘What happened here is horrendous and totally unfair’
An investigation is now underway to determine why the trees were felled, exposing households to the hazards of the motorway. Pictured in 2024 you can now see the lorries passing on the motorway
Pictured in 2021 the row of trees before they were felled. Preet Gill, Labour MP for Birmingham Edgbaston, said: ‘It is an absolutely shocking situation, giving that we should be planting more trees not felling trees, and for Highways to have taken a decision without any consultation’
Around a hundred trees which protected 157 homes in Quinton around Clay Drive and Chichester Drive from the noise and air pollution of the M5 were unexpectedly removed
Local claims it is too deafening and dirty to sit in their gardens or hang washing out and are often stuck indoors which can be stifling hot. One resident holding a noise meter
She added: ‘It’s louder upstairs than downstairs and I’ve had to move my bedroom from the back. overlooking the garden, to the front.
‘At times I have to sleep on the sofa downstairs where it is a bit quieter!’
Ms Davies, 54, who has lived in her two-bed end of terrace in Clay Drive since 2020, admitted: ‘Some of us just want to move away but we can’t afford it, plus property prices will have gone down because of it all.
She told how residents wanted the wooden fencing raised, proper noise barriers installed and the road lighting lowered.
She said: ‘We would love to have rows of trees again, they are aesthetically pleasing, but it would take years for them to grow. At the moment we have some bushes and the rest is weeds
‘The trees are gone, we can’t wait 50 years for new ones to be planted and mature so need to have something man-made to be effective.’
The protective and sheltering conifers were felled as part of essential safety work’ by National Grid with the permission of land owners Highways England.
Ms Davies, who lives with her partner and works from home, explained: ‘Rows of evergreen tress had been planted 50 years to minimise the impact of that stretch of the M5.
‘There were 100 mature strong trees which were brutally and unnecessarily felled in 2021 by Highways England, which maintain them.
‘Now all we have is a fence between us and the motorway. You see and hear the artic lorries come thundering past, you can taste and smell the brake fluid from the trucks which pollutes the air.
‘It is thick and black and disgusting and like living in a petrol station.
‘Day times are worst and as the trucks whizz past you get a strobing effect bouncing off them from the sunlight. ‘It is blinding and very distracting. There is no longer any protection.’
The incensed homeowner said: ‘There are 400 families living on this estate, build in the late 1960’s, and 100 households are severely affected by this.
She explained: ‘None of the trees, with the exception maybe of one or two, touched the overhead pylons and power lines. They were always maintained and safely distanced.
‘At the time 60 tress were inspected and only five were highlighted as needing attention. One was recommended to be felled on grounds of the health of the tree and not a safety aspect and the other four needed cutting.
‘But within 15 days they savagely took every tree and mulched the area.They literally ripped them all out. It was brutal and unnecessary. We tried to stop them but we couldn’t.’
The protective and sheltering conifers were felled as part of essential safety work’ by National Grid with the permission of land owners Highways England
Residents were left gobsmacked when rows of once sturdy conifers began to disappear from behind their back gardens. Pictured in 2021
National Highways says they have agreed to plant ‘fast growing species in the area’ to replace the conifers
Before pictures showing the high trees in the background
Ms Davies added: ”Both Conservative and Labour councillors got together with residents to challenge Highways and National Grid.
‘They told blatant lies to our faces and there were lots of excuses which were not acceptable, and they seem to be getting away with it.
‘Highways told us there wad no noise coming off the motorway and that it was all in our heads because you can only see the traffic, not hear it. How condescending is that?’
‘They took the trees out for one of two reasons – to save money by not having to maintain them or because they are preparing that stretch of road as a smart motorway, which they deny.’
Neighbour Connell McHugh, who has lived in the street for 16 years, said: ‘I miss the conifers overlooking out back gardens, and when thy came down I thought ‘My God, what has happened and why?’
The paramedic said: ‘When I bought my house I knew I was backing onto a motorway but with the unbroken line of thick, close knitted conifers, I felt it didn’t really matter.
‘But with them gone, its so loud, noisy and dirty. It’s awful.
‘The trees collected any dirt and brake dust and then when it rained it fell to the floor. Now it gets carried into our gardens and homes.
‘The tree roots stabilised the ground and helped reduced the noise and vibrations by 10-15 decibels which made a difference to residents.’
Mr McHugh, 52, told how the trees had always been regularly maintained and lopped in height every couple of years, and hadn’t interfered with the pylons.
‘They’ve planted some bushes and shrubs but we miss the trees. It’s ugly and noisy without them overlooking us.’
Mr McHugh, who lives alone with his Dachshund dog Dobby, said: ‘It’s a shame this has happened. Some people have moved away because it is, and it has devalued our houses.
‘The removal of the trees has caused havoc.’
The trees were originally planted when the housing estate was first built in the 1960s and acted as a natural noise barrier for residents. Pictured the M5 running past the homes
Neighbour Connell McHugh, who has lived in the street for 16 years, said: ‘I miss the conifers overlooking out back gardens, and when thy came down I thought ‘My God, what has happened and why?’
The paramedic said: ‘When I bought my house I knew I was backing onto a motorway but with the unbroken line of thick, close knitted conifers, I felt it didn’t really matter. ‘But with them gone, its so loud, noisy and dirty. It’s awful’
Fellow resident David Hackett, who has lived in his house for 44 years, said: ‘It was very sad seeing the trees go, but they said it was for safety reasons so what can you do?
‘I’m lucky that i live in a the middle of block of three houses and my neighbours of either side have massive conifers which held absorb the noise.
‘When I went to Melanie’s a few doors down I got the shock of my life because, blimey, it was really loud at her place.’
The retired hospital security guard, 74, said: ‘You get used to some noise form the motorway but when visitors come round they can’t stand it and say ‘What on earth is that racket?’
‘But at my age you tend to get on with things without grumbling too much, there are far worse things going on on the world than a bit of noise. I don’t lose sleep over it.’
His wife Julie said: ‘It is very loud without the trees but you put up with it. They’ve planted some shrubs and they are beginning to grow but you still hear the traffic.’
Local MP Preet Gill has welcomes the review, telling MailOnline: ‘I’m really pleased the Parliamentary Ombudsman is looking into this case, and I’m really keen to look at the findings of this review.
She said: ‘It’s a scandal that Highways England cut down around 100 trees in Quinton when only four or five needed to be felled. Can you imagine our shock and dismay?
‘This reckless decision has hugely impacted residents. The trees used to provide a protective barrier to noise and pollution. The replanting that has occurred is completely inadequate and does not protect residents from the M5 motorway.
‘Residents have told me that they cannot sleep or open their windows due to the disruption caused by the motorway. It is shocking and reckless that Highways took this decision without consulting residents and have failed to communicate with them throughout this process.
‘They have treated residents with total disregard. My constituents and I have been seeking a solution to rectify the damage caused.
‘There needs to be a proper noise barrier, there isn’t one. It is appalling, and utterly shocking.’
Resident David Hackett, who has lived in his house for 44 years, said: ‘It was very sad seeing the trees go, but they said it was for safety reasons so what can you do?
He added: ‘I’m lucky that i live in a the middle of block of three houses and my neighbours of either side have massive conifers which held absorb the noise’
The MP explained that they trees in Clay Drive and neighbouring Chichester Drive had originally been planted to protect the housing estate when it was was first built in the 1960s ,and acted as a natural noise barrier for residents.
The land is owned by Highways England who gave National Grid permission to cut down the trees to protect nearby power lines.
Ms Gill sad Highways England had assured locals that replanting would take place, noise barriers would be installed, and air quality and noise would be monitored.
Whilst air testing and some basic planting has happened no noise barrier is in place.’
The MP added: ‘Highways made promises to residents that they simply have not kept. Residents have suffered long enough without proper compensation. The sound and air pollution that my constituents are experiencing must be rectified.’
National Highways Programme Development Manager Ian Doust reportedly said: ‘While the trees were removed by National Grid on safety grounds, we replaced them with a more appropriate mixture of fast growing species and have carried out repairs to the soundboard fencing as promised.
‘We’ve provided all our records to the Parliamentary Ombudsman and we are co-operating fully with their investigation. We will respond to their findings once this investigation is concluded.’
A National Grid spokesperson reportedly said: ‘The removal of the trees was essential safety work to protect local residents, carried out because of the risk to high voltage power lines and National Highway’s motorway network.
‘We fully understood the concerns of local residents and we were pleased National Highways took the responsibility of replanting the removed trees and delivering additional remedial works.
‘We have shared technical information with National Highways to assist with their replanting and will continue to work closely with them on this matter.’
