To buy a house next to a petrol station?

Yes, we are buying a newish ICE car, we are hoping it will see us through as we are in our mid/late 60s

Where is all the electricity coming from to power all these EVs? We don't have it. Sales are dropping off, and second hand is a disaster, no one wants cars with older batteries new batteries cost more than the car is worth. Not to mention the fire hazard, you can't put the batteries out once they go up.

@BeatriceAndBeau - it’s not the fumes you need to to worry about. . Or the thing exploding. . From first hand experience PLEASE rethink. . Whilst the noise of cars, traffic etc seems normal in a busy city, the NOISE of a TANNOY randomly shouting out

“pump number 7, press the button / put the nozzle back properly / no mobile phones on the forecourt “ …
will drive you INSANE….

It doesn’t fade into the background. It grates on you and makes you jump EVEY SINGLE TIME. May only be 5 / 10 times over a 24hr period but trust me it’s AWFUL.

Yes, my waist line would be a concern. And the noise.

20m seems OK, we are a bit further away and don't get the fumes. I walk past often and I wouldn't like to live next door because of the smell, I suppose frequent little spills as people fill up and just coming off the fuel as it is put into the cars. Not to mention car doors banging all day.

I think yabvu to only be considering this 2 weeks before exchange.
I hope there isn't a chain full of people relying on your purchase going through.

Not as much worry as a house overlooking an empty field...

It would be the noise and traffic 24/7 which would put me off but if you are used to living in noisy places it will be fine, the shop that always come with these will be very handy.

It’ll likely be gone in the next 5-10 years as we switch to EV. I wouldn’t be concerned about the garage; I’d be more concerned about what will replace it.

Is it upwind or downwind of it

Ground contamination and overnight noise would be my concerns. Cars stopping/starting in the dead of the night are quite noisy.

We live around 50m for a petrol station, it’s not open all night though. Petrol smells are not an issue, traffic is obviously slightly higher and likely marginally worse location for exhaust pollution. Never worried about explosions. Worst annoyances are the sound of the jet wash occasionally can be heard on a quiet day and litter, those plastic gloves and Costa cups sometimes end up blowing into our driveway.

Only thing would be the car noise, but you don't seem to be bothered by that - the rest of the worries are unfounded. It will be fine - enjoy!

Super useful being that near a shop, I would love the 20m convenience!

I wouldn't.

Love how people are talking as if 20 metres isn't that close. It's literally next door if the house is on a medium sized plot, ie not a modern estate where all the houses are crammed in on top of each other but hardly a country estate either.

I wouldn't be worried about it exploding and the pollution is probably no different to living on a main road but I would be concerned about noise and traffic as it would be annoying to have to dodge people queuing to get in and out of the petrol station but it depends on the layout.

But as a PP says, most people have to compromise somewhere so if the house is otherwise suitable and the detriment caused by the petrol station is bearable, it might still be the best house for you OP.

I’m reading this thread and trying to imagine how I’d feel living 20m from a petrol station, and have just clocked that I do live 20m from a petrol station. D’oh. It’s fine. Occasionally at night you hear (with bedroom window open) the night cashier saying something over a tannoy to a customer. That’s about it.

There seems to be a lot of evidence that living next to a petrol station results in adverse health outcomes. I wouldn't personally consider it. A quick Google throws up hundreds of links such as this one.

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37249787/

I think it sounds really convenient to be so close to 24 hour supplies!

Almost everyone has to compromise when buying their house. If this is yours, I’d say that’s a win!

I've a relative that lives next door to a petrol station, the smell doesn't seem to travel and as it's on a busy fast road I only tend to notice the drone of that. It wasn't 24hr but not sure if it's changed since. It's very handy if you run out of milk or need to fill the car up.
There's not been any safety issues with the garage but relative had a minor fire once and the fire engine arrived very quickly.

Their main gripe is people parking and blocking their access due to the layout but that's probably not an issue 20m away.
Over the years the petrol station has been demolished and rebuilt, they did want to buy the property at one stage to expand but relative declined. It's a prime spot for a petrol station but many have closed and the site changed use or taken over by a car wash/valet.

I lived next to a petrol station as a student. The issue was the noise. It was bad.

Was just about to post the same. The petrol station wasn't the cause OP.

Being only 20m away from 24h availability of crisps, chocolate and ice cream is a plus point!

Think of all the times you can easily get whatever chocolate you fancy in minutes. Mile when you run out. Amazing

Does it have a Starbucks or similar? Is it likely to in the next ten years?

Just to clarify the petrol station didn’t explode. There was (I believe) a gas explosion in an apartment block which was built alongside it which cause the building to collapse onto the forecourt and shop.