By Dave GooderhamA DETERMINED campaigner whose rural lifestyle was shattered by traffic noise has welcomed the announcement that £105,000 will be spent on vital improvements.

By Dave Gooderham

A DETERMINED campaigner whose rural lifestyle was shattered by traffic noise has welcomed the announcement that £105,000 will be spent on vital improvements.

Gillian Clarkson spoke of her delight after Highways Agency bosses ended a 15-year wait for noise reduction measures on the A14 in Exning.

Mrs Clarkson, who spearheaded the campaign with dogged lobbying of traffic bosses and Government ministers, said: “I am absolutely overjoyed. It is wonderful that the work will finally be carried out.

“I hoped this day would come and I did have faith - but in the early days it was very frustrating as we had to prove there was a problem.

“The noise was absolutely horrendous and at times overpowered the whole village with the roar of the traffic.

“Everyone in Exning is now going to be living in peace and I will finally be able to sit in my garden and open my windows at night.”

The money is expected to be spent on noise fencing, while a quieter road surface will also be laid.

Mrs Clarkson, of St Martin's Close, Exning, chairman of the village's A14 noise committee, started the campaign for improvements in 1991.

“Since I took on the fight, I have not stopped writing letters. It was not until the late 1990s that those in power realised there was a problem with noise,” she said.

“When we first came to the village, we had this wonderful peaceful countryside, but the traffic levels have gradually got worse and over the last few years it has been astronomical. The measures are not going to block all the noise out, but it is still going to be wonderful.”

Janet Adkins, Highways Agency route administrator, confirmed the money had been allocated, but she was unable to confirm the type, length or exact location of the work at this stage.

She added design work would start in the next few months when a programme for installation would be unveiled.

dave.gooderham@eadt.co.uk