VILLAGERS are campaigning against works to extend the ‘smart motorway’ towards Winchester. Residents in Compton say it is dangerous and they are unhappy that trees and vegetation will be removed, potentially increasing noise pollution. A coroner in Yorkshire criticised the ‘smart’ concept after two men were killed on a stretch with no hard shoulder. Highways England has started preparatory work including vegetation clearance. One villager, who asked not to be named, said: “The clearance of trees between Eastleigh and Winchester is untenable. It will escalate noise and pollution. “Motorway noise has gotten increasingly bad these last few years and it is the children in local schools and our villages that suffer. A conversation should be opened now regarding proper noise barriers too - the existing barriers are woefully insufficient.”