RESIDENTS who say their lives are blighted by living on a noisy stretch of road near Cirencester are to put pressure on the government to step in.

More than 500 people have contributed to a report submitted by the the A419 Noise Action Group who want the concrete section of the A417/A419 carriageway near Latton to be resurfaced with tarmac.

Since the road was built in 1997 those living nearby have been complaining of loss of sleep and headaches but despite a long campaign the road remains unfixed.

In a survey by the action group, 97 percent of residents said they could hear the noise from the highway, 88 percent said the noise was invasive and 62 percent said the noise was disruptive.

Councillor Paul Hodgkins, who is chairman of the group said: “Those of us living to the north and east of Cirencester suffer just as much from excessive noise from the road as those around the Water Park area and north Wiltshire.

“For some, there is loss of sleep and headaches, for others stress and anxiety – we were surprised at the way this road has impacted on people’s health.

“Others told us they felt they had no alternative but to live with the problem and were isolated – they didn’t know who to speak to about it or what they could do.”

The Highways Agency, which is responsible for the maintenance of the road, has identified a number of sections of the A417 and A419 near Cirencester for noise surfacing before 2021, but this excludes the section near Latton.

The group will be sending the findings of the report to councils in the area, MPs, the Government as well as the Highways Agency.

The aim is to raise awareness of the negative problems to health  to put pressure on the Highways Agency to resurface the road.

Janet Sharpe, another member of the action group, said that as well as affecting people’s health she believed that noise on the road could severely affect the infrastructure of the area.

She said: “It seems unjust – the management of the social consequences of the road seemed to have been passed by.

“This area is a prime area for development of housing but why would you build homes when there is an issue with noise.”