Family acquaintances lived along the London commuter belt, early 90s. Small town, big military presence. I was only a teen so don't know the exact details but I remember being pretty horrified by what he did.
He was late 40s, older kids who had their own families. He lived in a bungalow in a lovely cul-de-sac surrounded by fields, on the edge of town. His bungalow was the largest property and in the middle of the crescent (if that makes sense) .
A property developer approached all the residents with offers to buy them out so they could build a supermarket and develop that side of town with new housing.
The deal was all or none, either all get a piece of the pie or all stick together and give the finger to the developer. They decided to stick together.
Family acquaintance went against the decision as had very tough job and taking the money meant he could retire early. He walked away with a 6 figure sum and because the developer could continue with just his property demolished the other residents were left with the choice to stay and put up with the building work and subsequent busy traffic, living next to a supermarket or sell up. With the development going ahead their properties were now worth nothing, however the property developer paid them a pittance to move and then demolished the cul-de-sac.
Acquaintance left the town and has never looked back, bought houses for his children and put the grandkids through uni.
The small town is now a carbon copy of every other town, with retail parks (on their old land) and numerous supermarkets and new builds. So even had he not gone against the deal he'd not have stopped the development, so can't blame him with hindsight I suppose.