'We live under a busy UK motorway - we love it but it's not for everyone'
A family who live under one of the busiest motorways in the UK love their unusual environment - even if they can hear the near-constant traffic.
Joanna Care lives in the house in which she was brought up and so knows no different to the constant hum of motors.
She would play underneath the flyover with her sisters and their friends. Now, she and husband Ritchie live under it together - with their four-month-old baby Evelyn.
The tall pillars of the motorway, which at this section in Port Talbot, south Wales, is elevated 45ft above the ground, go into the family's back garden, but they embrace their surroundings.
Speaking to Wales Online, Joanna said: "It's never been a negative thing for me. This is where I've always lived."
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Joanna, pictured with her sisters (left to right) Rebecca and Rosalind, played under the motorway as a child (WalesOnline/Rob Browne)Ritchie, though, concedes the noise was - and remains - a big challenge. The dad grew up by the sea in another area of Port Talbot.
Ritchie said: "I grew up on a beach, where you'd have the outdoor space to play football or go surfing. This is a far cry from what I'm used to. Even today, I can’t get used to the motorway in regards to the sounds. Four o’clock every morning, the lorries start doing their jaunt and then I wake up. Whether I go back to sleep or not is a different thing.
"But I just can’t get used to the noise - whether the windows are double glazed or even triple glazed, it doesn’t matter. I’m just used to serenity. I didn’t realise I was so sensitive to noise until I started living here."
Gabrielle Gillings, pictured with sons, Lennox and Keane, likes living under the motorway (WalesOnline/Rob Browne)In 1953, it was announced that the Port Talbot bypass would be built, which would be Wales' first motorway and the first part of what would become the M4. It wasn't until 1966 that the 4.5 mile-long stretch opened.
It helped cut the journey time between Swansea and Cardiff by 20 minutes, but the futuristic-looking project came at a cost to the town itself as it saw the destruction of three chapels and more than 200 houses. It was known locally as "the road on top of a town".
Just down the road, Gabrielle Gillings lives with her two sons, six-year-old Lennox and 21-month-old Keane. The health care support worker has lived at her Port Talbot for six years by now and like Joanna, the sound of the traffic passing by on the motorway above is just normal part of their day-to-day life.
Lennox Gillings enjoys playing football in the garden despite the noise of cars (WalesOnline/Rob Browne)Gabrielle said: "I've always lived by the motorway. My parents still live on the other side, that's where I've grown up. I wanted to be close to home and when this house came up, I didn't feel like: 'Oh no, I can't live here because it's close to the motorway'.
"I wanted to still live in this area and I wouldn't want to move away from here. For me, this is just the norm and I enjoy living here. You don’t hear as much in the morning, but in the night you can still hear the traffic.
"I think I’m just kind of used to it after living here for so long. I think if you were a new person in the area and you had never lived by a motorway before it would cause some problems. It could be very annoying for some, like living next to a railway. But for me and my boys, it's what we're used to."
The other advantage of living here, Gabrielle says, is the garden. Although the size of the gardens were altered during the construction of the bypass, there is still outdoor space available, something of which that all the family can appreciate.
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"The kids absolutely love the garden," Gabrielle said, while her sons were busy playing football in the garden. She added: "My favourite time in the garden is the summer. The sun starts off at the end of the garden and it stays here all day as it’s south facing. Because it’s a big garden, you have a huge space. So during the summer as well, we'll have a big paddling pool out over here."
The families have plenty of space in and outside in Port Talbot, south Wales (WalesOnline/Rob Browne)But living in such a unique setting does come with its fair share of challenges. According to Joanna and Ritchie, behind the walls of their garden they have encountered issues such as fly tipping and antisocial behaviour, something of which that has become a gradual concern for the couple.
"It’s not just now and again, it’s becoming a hotspot," Joanna said. "It’s really sad when you want to go for a nice walk somewhere or even when you’re just nipping out, and you see all the fly tipping. Some people just think they have an old bed and they'll just chuck it outside here - out of sight, out of mind.
"It feels like nobody seems to care about the environment anymore and the impact it’s having on the environment. How are we supposed to teach my daughter to care, when our generation don’t? You just see all this rubbish everywhere."
She added: "It’s really sad to think I used to play there and now that’s what it has become. I had no idea I’d be raising a child here, but it would’ve been nice if that opportunity to play was still there. I would’ve loved to take Evelyn down there to learn to ride her bike, but not as it is now, I don't think I will."
Ritchie agrees and says that some people might forget that their house and the surrounding area are actually their home and community. One thing that has stood the test of time is that sense of community, something that has been here far longer than the flyover or the M4.
"Having good neighbours stands for an awful lot," Ritchie said. "And we have a fantastic bunch of neighbours. There is a strong sense of neighbourliness that you don’t see very much these days - we check in on each other, we make sure we are okay."
Joanna added: "I’d love if I could raise our child with the same childhood I had here. I have so many good memories here. My sister will come here sometimes and say: ‘Gosh, this still feels like home’.
"That’s the beauty of it, that I’ve been able to keep our childhood home. It would be nice to stay, because we've had brilliant times here and I hope she will have that too."
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