Thame MP John Howell has congratulated the M40 Chilterns Environmental Group on its result in a national competition which will reduce noise between Lewknor and Wheatley.
The competition, Community Energy Challenge, was launched by The Cooperative Group and the Centre for Sustainable Energy, with the aim to encourage and support the development of community-owned and clean energy projects.
The Chilterns group is one of seven contestants out of an initial field of 120 to win. The win entitles it to a share of £200,000 and professional support to help take the project forward.
The Chilterns project proposes using sound barriers along the motorway to support photo voltaic panels. This provides an alternative energy source close to customers along the route of the motorway and, through the income the panels generate, provides funding for the sound barriers.
John Howell said: “I congratulate the M40 Chilterns Environmental Group on being one of only seven groups across the UK to win this competition. This is very good news indeed both for the Chilterns Group and for the people who live along the route of the M40.
“I have been in regular contact with the group since I was first elected and I was honoured to have been asked to address their last annual meeting. I have been pleased to be able to help along the way by for example obtaining answers from Ministers to questions posed by the group.
“What has always impressed me with this group has been its tenacity in pursuing its aim and the imagination it has always shown in coming up with creative solutions like this one. Above all, the group has always shown exemplary professionalism and competence. This is a group which really knows its stuff.
“I will now want to ensure that the group receives all possible help from the Highways Agency and the Department for Transport and that this imaginative project receives the support it needs to go forward. This is an exciting project which brings relief to those who live along the M40 a step closer.”