Noisy M25 section near Wisley that 'brings misery to thousands of residents' will be resurfaced

A notoriously loud section of the M25 in Surrey said by local leaders to keep residents up at night and force schools and businesses to close their windows in the summer is in line to be resurfaced. This is after campaigning by residents, an action group, and politicians.

Roads agency National Highways confirmed plans for the work on the clockwise carriageway between the A3 at Wisley (Junction 10) and the A320 St Peter’s Way for Chertsey, Addlestone, and Ottershaw (Junction 11). The M25 Resurfacing Action Group welcomed the news, however, founding member Councillor Amanda Boote warned it will cost millions and could take years to complete.

Cllr Boote represents residents in Byfleet and West Byfleet on Woking Borough Council (WBC) and Surrey County Council (SCC) and is understood to have helped establish the action group in 2019. She commented: “I am absolutely delighted that work has now finally started to reduce the adverse impact of noise pollution from the M25.”

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Cllr Boote continued: “This is the only section of the motorway in a residential area that still contains the original concrete, and this has deteriorated so much now that the noise causes misery to an estimated 30,000 residents over a wide-ranging area.

“It has taken much lobbying to get to this point and I would like to thank our local MPs Dr Ben Spencer and Jonathan Lord for their support with my campaign, as well as the residents who support me with the action group.”

A spokesperson for National Highways said: “We have a long-term programme to repair the joints between slabs on the concrete section of the M25 and then treat the surface. These measures will reduce the noise experienced by those living near the roads and improve journeys for road users.”

The spokesperson added: “In September 2023, we undertook joint repairs to a 300m section of the clockwise M25 near Walton-on-the-Hill, between Junctions 8 and 9 and in March 2024 to an 850m section of the anticlockwise M25 near Addlestone between Junctions 10 and 11.

“Later this year, we plan to carry out further joint repairs to the clockwise M25 near Addlestone and commence the surface treatment to the section near Walton-on-the-Hill, where we have previously undertaken the joint repairs. We will have an update on our planned work in due course.”

Cllr Amanda Boote advised: “The work to resurface Junctions 10 to 11 will cost in the millions and it will take many years to complete, but I am delighted to see that we have been able to make a change and to make this happen.” Potential new surfaces were trialled for two years on the M1 after a Westminster debate was prompted by a petition delivered to Parliament in 2020.

The M25 Resurfacing Action Group outlined the plan to put the new Next Generation Concrete Surface (NGCS) material onto the carriageway between Junctions 10 and 11. It suggested initial work will be completed by April 2026. The M25 full weekend closure in March was used as an opportunity to start the project and the next closure in July will see further work completed.

Jonathan Lord outlined his support for the M25 Resurfacing Action Group. He commented: “After years of lobbying and campaigning about this, it’s fantastic that National Highways has now completed the necessary surface treatments on one key stretch of the M25 to reduce the noise.”

Mr Lord continued: “We now have a firm promise that the rest of the M25 between Junctions 10 and 11 will also be done over the coming months and years. I pay tribute to the work of Councillor Amanda Boote and the M25 Action Group. It has been very rewarding to work closely alongside them over the past few years.”

Mr Lord was first elected as MP for Woking in 2010 and is standing for re-election in the seat again in the 2024 general election following the dissolution of Parliament at the end of May. Dr Spencer was elected MP for Runnymede and Weybridge in 2019 and is also standing again for his seat.

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