‘This isn’t just a nuisance, it’s a serious health issue that will continue to harm’
06:05, 12 Jul 2026
WHAT IT SOUNDS LIKE NEXT TO THE M32 IN EASTVILLE
It is 11 years since Government highways chiefs marked a stretch of the M32 as a ‘priority for noise reduction’, but people living along the section near Eastville have begun a new campaign to erect acoustic barriers to stop the ‘intolerable’ noise.
And those living in Eastville and Stapleton say that, with the ongoing deterioration of the road surface and the flyover itself, the noise from increased amounts of traffic is getting worse every year.
Last month, National Highways announced it was spending £450 million to make major repairs to the flyover section of the M32 as it enters Bristol and goes over junction 2 between Eastville Park and Ikea.
National Highways and Bristol City Council confirmed the programme would include noise barriers eventually, but people living near this section were left fuming when they were told the work will take six years and won’t start until 2029 – residents say they want the acoustic barriers installed now.
In 2015, Highways England announced they recognised it was a problem that had been getting worse. Although almost everyone living next to Junction 2 of the M32 started living there after the M32 was built, the noise has got worse since, over the decades, mainly because the road surface has deteriorated and the motorway now takes 85,000 vehicles a day – a huge increase on a few decades ago.
In 2015, more than 1,000 people living along this stretch signed a petition asking for action, and what was then called Highways England initially agreed it was a priority, but nothing happened.
Project manager Will Miller and engineering team manager Terry Robinson, from National Highways(Image: Alex Seabrook)
Local councillors at the time said they had been told it would be done by 2020, but in 2021, Bristol Live reported frustration that Highways England said the sound barrier wouldn’t be installed until 2024.
Two years on from that, and a full 11 years on from first acknowledging it was a problem that needed sorting, local residents say National Highways have told them it won’t be sorted yet, even though the massive programme to repair and maintain the flyover has now been agreed.
The huge repair programme for the Eastville Flyover will see the M32 get even noisier, and work will take six years and won’t start until 2029. That means if noise barriers are installed at the end of the work, it won’t be until 2035 – a full 20 years after it was acknowledged as an issue that needed sorting – that residents will feel the benefit.
“This isn’t just a nuisance, it’s a serious health issue that will continue to harm the life chances of anyone growing up in proximity to this road until something is done about it,” said Tin Hinson and Frances Topham Smallwood, who have drawn up another petition.
“In 2015, Highways England promised that acoustic barriers would be erected at the same time as repair works to the motorway between Junction 2 and the M4, but this never happened,” they added.
Those living nearby say constant noise is recognised as a huge health hazard. “Parts of the M32’s surroundings – including Eastville Park, Bridge Farm Community, and Glenfrome Primary School, among others – are among the worst-affected parts of the UK for road noise pollution, with over 65 decibels average noise,” Frances said.
“This is well above the World Health Organisation’s maximum recommended noise thresholds of 53dB during the day and 45dB at night are the minimum to avoid long term health impacts.
“Long term exposure to road noise pollution is recognised by the WHO as linked to sleep disturbance, increased stress, impaired cognitive function, and higher risk of cardiovascular disease,” she said.
News that the M32 flyover would be repaired – which means noisy roadworks for six years – meant residents thought they would be getting the sound barriers, but say Highways England dashed those hopes of an early end to their nightmare.
The M32 Eastville Flyover comes within 30ft of some homes (Image: Google Maps)
“National Highways have told us that so far they have only been assigned a budget for repair works, not acoustic barriers.
“While these works are in progress there is an amazing opportunity to add noise insulation barriers to the existing barriers on the edge of the motorway. For relatively little cost, and at a time when the motorway is already going to have at least some lanes closed for traffic anyway, this is a once in a generation opportunity to radically improve the lives of people living beside the motorway,” they added.