‘Deafening’ noise of late night tree cutting in Worthing

Residents in Hillbarn Lane by the trees that were cut down

People living in Hillbarn Lane said they were given less than a day’s notice about plans to remove trees from their road to help construct a new access road from the A27.

The work is being carried out as part of Worthing College’s move to The Warren.

The Highways Agency began the work at 8pm on Monday, but residents said it was so loud they were unable to hear themselves over the noise.

The noise of chainsaws and woodchippers continued until gone 10pm when the work was called off.

Carol Armknech, 55, was one of several residents to film the work because of the sound it caused.

She said: “It was absolutely horrendous. The noise was deafening.

“We knew the work was going to happen and we knew there were going to be trees taken down. It’s just the fact the work was done so late at night.

“We’ve got people living here from newborns to pensioners and people are being kept up.

“I’m sure if I tried to take a tree out of my garden at that sort of time I would get a slap on the wrist.”

Another resident, Mandy Clifford, said the noise was “disgusting”.

She said: “Is it really acceptable to be cutting down trees between the hours of 8pm and 11pm at night without any notice?

“Our road has a high number of infants and people who work early mornings that go to bed early and we were not given the chance to make alternative arrangements.

“It is absolutely disgusting the noise which we have had to endure.

“I think what people are forgetting is that perhaps local residents wouldn’t be so against new developments if extremely noisy works were undertaken during reasonable hours of the day.”

The work is being carried out by the Highways Agency on behalf of the college.

A Highways Agency spokesman said: “The work being carried out on the A27 near Hill Barn Lane is part of the planning consent for the Worthing College’s relocation to the Warren and will facilitate access to the college.

“We always try to keep disruption to a minimum while we deliver road improvements, and by carrying out this part of the work over two evenings and completing it by 11pm each night, we have done our best to balance the needs of road users and residents alike.

“Nevertheless, we accept that the work is noisy and we regret any disruption that causes. Wherever possible, noisy activities have been restricted to daytime hours.”