Coleshill: Jackie McCormack on living next to A446

When you subscribe we will use the information you provide to send you these newsletters. Sometimes they’ll include recommendations for other related newsletters or services we offer. Our Privacy Notice explains more about how we use your data, and your rights. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Jackie and James McCormack told how they’ve had to wear earplugs after moving into the £350,000 three-bedroomed home. The property is just feet from A446, a 70mph dual-carriageway, busy with lorries and other HGVs, reports Birmingham Live.

The couple, who are grandparents, called for authorities to cut the speed limit along the stretch of road near Coleshill, Warwickshire. They also said crash barriers should be installed.  

But Jackie and James, who moved in in February after the asking price was slashed by £25,000, have since been slammed on social media.

Express readers took to Facebook to stress it must have been “a little bit obvious” there was going to be noise.

One reader said: “Surely it was a little obvious, a dual carriageway is surely a sign in itself that it’s busy whether at the time of viewing it was quiet or not?”

Another posted: “How did they not know they would get terrible road noise and shaking, with a dual carriage way just behind the wooden fence?”

A third said: “Imagine viewing a house that many times and never noticing a great big road right next to it.”

Another shared:  “It’s not rocket science that it would be a noisy place to live.”

I knew it was a busy road – there’s no getting away from that. I would be stupid if I didn’t think it was a busy road

Jackie McCormack

But Jackie, who works for a disability charity, said: “All these trolls say ‘you should have known’.

“I knew it was a busy road – there’s no getting away from that. I would be stupid if I didn’t think it was a busy road.

“But this – how could I have known?”

The 58-year-old mum has even recorded the noise levels when vehicles drive past her home.

When a lorry thunders past, noise levels reach 85 decibels – nearly as loud as a food blender or a dishwasher.

A decibel reading of 85 is the point at which protection is advised to prevent hearing damage.

A separate test saw the volume in the garden measure well above the 120 decibels heard at a rock concert.

James, who works for Rolls Royce, even said the “noise definitely compares” to the aircraft engines he makes through work.

He said: “With the vibrations, it doesn’t matter what you put in your ears, it rattles your bones.

“We’ve got anti-vibration pads which we’ve put under the feet of our bed but they don’t work. It is just unbearable.”

Jackie added: “We have earplugs in the nighttime but the thud wakes you up. It’s shocking but no one wants to take responsibility.

“The house has been built too close. Anyone who thinks I’m exaggerating can come and see for themselves.”

The couple moved from Kings Heath, Birmingham, to the home because they had long wanted a more modern, detached home.

However, they are considering selling up and returning to the city.

“I was in a beautiful Victorian house but I thought we always wanted a detached house, and we jumped at it and I wish we could just go back,” Jackie continued.

“It was perfect for us. It was a little bit smaller, it was closer to where my husband works at Rolls Royce in Solihull.”

Jackie and James had several viewings of the Coleshill house before deciding to buy it.

But speaking earlier this week, Jackie said: “I’m not saying we were duped, I think they [estate agents] should have been a little more forthcoming with the times they were allowing us to come see.

“If it had been about 2pm, we would have said ‘what the hell’ and we wouldn’t have touched it with a barge pole. I’m not blaming the planners[either], but how they got planning permission to build a house so close to the road, I will never know.”

Warwickshire County Council, led by the Conservative Party, said it is aware of the problems and will consider them ‘very carefully’ to recommend possible solutions.

A spokesperson said: “A meeting is currently being arranged with various stakeholders to discuss this.

“Obviously, there is no guarantee that it will be possible to provide any measures, but we will consider the issues raised very carefully and aim to recommend possible solutions.”

BirminghamLive has contacted Highways England and the estate agents for comments, but had no response.

Source: Read Full Article