The works are taking place on Liverpool Road in Salford
Salford resident Freda Smith said the works have lasted weeks(Image: Kenny Brown / MEN)
A pensioner has appealed for ‘some peace and quiet’ on her street after reaching the end of her tether over ‘horrendous’ noise caused by roadworks. Freda Smith, 74, said ‘continuous’ noise from a digger on Liverpool Road in Salford is causing her ‘whole house to shake’ and stopping her from having a nap during the day.
The works are by ESP Electricity, which is laying electricity cables to supply a new vehicle charging station. The firm said it will do ‘everything possible to minimise disruption’ while the work takes place. But Ms Smith said it’s been ‘chaos’ on the busy road since the scheme got started in early January.
She has to turn the TV volume up to 28 to hear it with the sound of the digger operating on the road. After confronting the workers she thought things might change, but she said the noise has continued and is happening just feet from her front door.
Ms Smith said she just wants some peace and quiet in her own home(Image: Kenny Brown / MEN)
Liverpool Road is near the M60 and Eccles town centre, with Irlam and Cadishead in the other direction. The road was constantly busy when the Manchester Evening News visited during a working day, with both cars and heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) whizzing past.
The 74-year-old pensioner said she suffers from ‘severe arthritis’ and just wants the noise levels to go down.
“I’m not well, we’re old people, I’m right on the main road and I was woken up by the drilling of this digger which is feet from my home,” Ms Smith said.
“I’ve been out to them before about this, I spoke to them a while ago and it was supposed to have been sorted out. The noise is horrendous, it’s coming into my home, I sleep in the back bedroom so I’m 50 feet away and the whole house is shaking, it woke me up.”
The pensioner lives on the road with her husband David and their son. She said her ten-year-old grandson has not been able to visit since the works started because of the disruption it has caused.
The resident said people were not given any notice about the works starting(Image: Kenny Brown / MEN)
She added: “Another issue is it’s narrowed the road so you get HGVs going past and it’s only the width of a car, I would not be surprised if there’s a bump in the next few weeks on here.”
She also said people on the road were not given any notice of the works starting other than a sign stuck to the bus stop. Ms Smith explained: “We’ve had roadworks before but this time no residents have had a letter or phone call to say the work was starting.
“There are a lot of old people who live here and we don’t know what’s going on, some of our bus stops have gone, it’s just chaos. I understand they have to do work, but we could have had some information, it’s unacceptable.
“That’s how much they think of us, they didn’t tell us and thought ‘we’ll just carry on with our digging’. I’m retired, I just want some peace and quiet.”
An ESP Electricity spokesperson said: “ESP Electricity’s contractors are laying new electricity cables along Liverpool Road – mainly in the footway – which will supply a new electric vehicle charging station. This involves installing new ducting to carry the cables. Our contractors dropped off letters to residents along the roadworks site to advise them of the works to be carried out.
“Work times are restricted to reduce inconvenience for residents and local schools with works starting around 9am and finishing around 3.30pm. The road diversions and restrictions have been planned in advance with Salford City Council.
“No-one likes to see roadworks near their home or on their commute route, so we do everything possible to minimise disruption to local residents and road users while these necessary works are carried out.”
Salford Council was contacted for comment.
Ms Smith and her family have been plagued by noise issues in their time living in the area. A previous issue with a manhole cover caused a ‘massive shuddering’ noise every time a car or truck drove past, putting the family through a decade of sleepless nights.
It was later found to be a Virgin Media manhole and the firm said in January 2025 that it had ‘repeatedly carried out works to a high standard on a manhole cover on Liverpool Road’, but issued an apology and said it understood the concerns about noise.
A Virgin spokesperson added at the time: “We understand that the noise caused by large vehicles driving over it remains a concern for residents. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.”