FED-UP residents have ramped up their campaign to have a concrete section of the A419 resurfaced amid claims the noise of passing traffic is making life a misery.

Ever since the road was first built in 1997 and surfaced with concrete instead of tarmac, there have been constant complaints about noise.

Now an action group is stepping up its drive to have the Latton and Cerney Wick to Cirencester section resurfaced, with campaigners saying that noise is now so bad that they cannot use their gardens in peace.

A meeting is planned for Tuesday, September 27 at 8pm at Latton village Hall for campaign supporters to come up with an action plan to try and press the Highways Agency to take action.

Chairman of the A419 Action Group Ian Fairbrother said: "Use of the road has increased significantly since it was built with an associated increase in the ambient noise levels.

"Since the action group started to look at the situation, it has acquired official evidence that the noise impact measurements fed to the Public Enquiry in 1992 before the road was built were based on tarmac, not concrete."

Concrete roads are noisy because they have grooves at right angles to the direction of travel, which generates a hum as tyres pass over the surface.

Mr Fairbrother said the the surface not only caused noise pollution but also affected conservation, the Water Park and tourism He said: "There is now more momentum behind this problem than there has been for some time and it is important to maintain it. "It is the Action Group’s intention to establish a plan that will lead to successful lobbying for a new, quieter surface for the A419 for the general benefit of affected communities and the many visitors to this area, as well as those commercial activities such as hotels, pubs and sporting venues that are located here and do so much for tourism in the Water Park."

Cotswold district councillor Clive Bennett said he fully backed the action group.

He has been working with Cotswold MP Geoffrey Clifton-Brown to press for Government action.

He said: "I have asked our Cotswold MP to chase up the Highways Minister in an attempt to get an idea of when something will be done to ease the noise disturbance which people along the concrete corridor suffer each day."

A Highways agency spokesman said there were no immediate plans to resurface the road but that when maintenance work is required it would look to resurface the carriageway with low noise surfacing materials.