It will come as no surprise that life beside the M1 is “noisy”. Leeds residents have spoken about the measures in place, incorporated into their custom-built new-build estate, to reduce the hum, chug and moan of the traffic on the major motorway at all hours.
There are vents hammered into homes and even a noise-reducing fence so they can bathe in the garden hot tubs while motorists whizz past their estate located on Renison Avenue and Renison Court, beside Temple Point business park in Colton.
It’s home to a “tight-knit” community where people have each other’s backs. Every house seems to have CCTV cameras installed and the road is spotless. The community came together to make the estate parking permitted after workers at the business park began parking their cars across the estate.
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Residents say children are free to play out in the evenings without concern of dangerous drivers visiting. Plus, there’s a fish pond regularly visited by dog walkers. Apart from the traffic noise, the Renisons could be described as a paradise for young families and those looking to reside in peace.
Jason Parker, 51, has lived in Renison Court for 10 years. He was one of the first to move there with his wife and two children, now 25 and 27. He lives on a plot right at the edge of the estate, very close to the motorway.
Jason said: “We have a noise-reducing fence. There’s triple glazing, and internal vents which circulate the air so we don’t have to open windows. All the top floor is double boarded.
“Inside it works but you can hear it outside. With the ground and first floor, you’d be surprised to hear the motorway. On the top floor, you hear it a little bit, but it doesn’t keep us awake.”
The father-of-two, who works in service planning for railways, used to work in health and safety and looked fastidiously into all the noise reduction measure before moving in. When he first moved in there were some issues where the building hadn’t been double boarded, but he was quick in getting these measures rectified.
He loves the plot he’s in. Jason said: “We’re tucked away out of the way. We’ve got a nice big field in front of us. We’ve got privacy around the side with a hot tub around there.
“For us, it’s perfect, ideal. It’s a great place. You’ve got everything, the transport links, we’re in a triangle of three train stations and all the amenities around the corner. A Harvester, McDonald’s, Sainsbury’s, and then there’s The Springs [Shopping Centre] and the cinema, all about a 10 minute walk away.”
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Scott Logan, 53, said the community is “close, convenient and reasonably tight-knit”, with convenient transport links but admits that it is very noisy. He said: “You get used to it but it’s quite noisy. It’s time-related. In the evening it’s quieter, during the day you can hear quite a bit of traffic going by.
“It’s not so much of an issue now because of the parking scheme but at the time it could be annoying and irritating but it’s just part and parcel of living beside a business park.”
Family man Brett Campbell, 30, who lives there with his wife and four children, two, six, seven and 12, said: “The M1 is not tarmac - it’s concrete and it has grooves. So, when it rains, it’s probably 10 times as loud, at least, and you can really hear it.”
He moved there specifically be beside the motorway as he works up and down the country as a contract manager. He’s also very happy with the sense of community and safety in the estate.
Brett said: “It’s an ace place to raise the kids. It’s really good around here. The only cars around here are people who live here. On a night when the kids are playing here, there’s not a lot of traffic. There’s probably about 20 kids playing out here, playing on their bikes and playing football. It’s great.
“It’s calm and peaceful. Close-knit. We all know each other on a WhatsApp group. Everyone has put cameras up on their houses.”
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