THOUSANDS of people whose homes could border a controversial new road will suffer an increase in noise pollution while figures revealed the park threatened by the scheme had more spent on it than any other Barnsley park in the last five years.

The news, which emerged this week, has sparked fresh anger from campaigners of the Penny Pie Park Action Group, who told the Chronicle the proposed £4.3m scheme off Dodworth Road ‘simply cannot go ahead’ following the latest revelations.

The council is aiming to reduce town centre-bound traffic congestion and the time it takes to get from junction 37 of the M1 by channelling vehicles through the new gyratory which will carve up the park.

Research conducted by the BBC Local Democracy Reporting Service revealed the park has been given £174,000 from the council since 2012/13 the most of all of the town’s 48 parks.

Almost all of it has come from Section 106 funding cash put aside for loss of amenity by developers to compensate for the negative impact large housing developments have.

Campaigner Peter Giles described the council’s handling of the case as ‘alarming’.

“Penny Pie Park has been lavished with Section 106 money as it’s been a well-used facility for years, but the council now want to put a road through it,” he told the Chronicle.

“That’s a huge waste of money and an affront to other parks in Barnsley which are crying out for improvement works. This whole application has been rejected by the public and as each week passes it seems something else is dug up. It’s about time they listened to our voices.”

Engineering company AECOM was commissioned by the council to undertake a noise and vibration assessment for the proposed scheme.

AECOM’s report said: “In the short term, 2,082 residential properties are expected to experience an increase in noise level due to the scheme.

“The remaining 2,062 households are expected to experience a minor or negligible increase in noise, resulting in minor or negligible impacts respectively.

“Those experiencing major increases are located to the western extent of Grosvenor Walk and on Broadway at the south-east corner of the junction with Dodworth Road. In the long term, the vast majority of residential buildings are expected to experience an increase in traffic noise levels due to the proposed scheme, during both the day and night.”

According to a Freedom of Information request submitted by campaigners from Penny Pie Park Action Group, spending on consultants in relation to the plan has already set the council back £150,000.

Matt Gladstone, executive director for place at the council, said: “The council received the report from AECOM in September 2018. Planning raised some possible concerns with the potential mitigations and the council asked AECOM to carry out further work.

“The planning service took the view that it made sense to publicise all the additional information in one go, to reduce the impact on people making representations and to avoid confusion and consultation fatigue.

“The remaining information was received last week. The planning service tried to notify residents as soon as possible, hence the letters being issued last Friday.

“The noise reports highlight that there are 2,153 residential properties and five non-residential noise-sensitive buildings that fall within the 600m calculation area that is used to evaluate noise levels.

“For properties and buildings outside of this calculation area, but within 1km, a wider study area impact assessment has been carried out.

“The significant and moderate impact may be avoided through the implementation of a noise insulation scheme, in line with a package of measures, assuming the residents accept any offer made.

“We’re looking at a range of options to lessen the impact of these effects which can be seen in the information on the planning portal.”