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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To buy a house so close to a motorway

138 replies

fabulousfailure · 19/04/2023 20:22

Just this really. A lovely house has come on the market. We put an offer in which was accepted, now having second thoughts.

The issue is, it's really quite close to a major motorway. As in, 3 or 4 houses beyond ours, then a decent fence which is the motorway edge.

You can hear it, it's a bit like white noise, there all the time. I don't know whether we'd get used to it and just not notice it over time, or conversely whether it would become an ongoing irritant.

And then I've started to read up on air pollution. Forgive me but I knew little about this until now. What I'm reading sounds really scary. If you live within 150m or so of a road like this, it sounds like there are all sorts of health risks. Not just for us as adults like dementia, but also our children and potentially lifelong.

On the flipside, clearly lots of people live there now, and across the country so many people live near roads like this and in cities. Am i being really over anxious through Google groups this stuff?

YABU = it's not that bad, you can get used to it
YANBU = these are valid concerns, it is reasonable to hesitate in this situation

OP posts:
ClareBlue · 19/04/2023 22:45

All the main environmental risk factors to your health are increased by living next to a main road with the exception of those associated with drinking water. The biggest environmental health risk in Europe is air pollution followed by noise. The most regulated environmental emission in Europe is emissions to air and the set air quality standards. There is no bigger environmental risk to your health than air quality. You will get more house for you money for a reason. But more house is beneficial to health, more disposable income is beneficial. The biggest social determination of health is economic power so if you have more cash you can do things that make you healthy or stop you being unhealthy.
You are right to ponder the question as it really is a balance.
Google WHO and EU air quality and night time noise for the evidence base.

Gruf · 19/04/2023 22:50

I wouldn’t consider it due to noise and air pollution

LIZS · 19/04/2023 22:52

For me it is more the noise pollution than air quality. Fast moving traffic will generate less pollutants than traffic jams and slow moving, although that may also be affected by the prevalent wind direction, whether it is in a cutting or running along an embankment, tree lines etc. The local council or highways may monitor air quality nearby and that information should be published annually.

C152 · 19/04/2023 22:57

I wouldn't buy it. You may or may not get used to the noise; unfortunately, you won't know until it's too late. (One of my friends once lived very close to a railway track. She says she never got used to the noise.)

The air pollution issue is not over-egged. Some hospitals even list air pollution levels for a patient's post code on their medical record, so they can have conversations with patients about what this may mean for their condition.

Blinky21 · 19/04/2023 23:06

Once all cars are electric you'll be fine

LIZS · 19/04/2023 23:09

Blinky21 · 19/04/2023 23:06

Once all cars are electric you'll be fine

Electric vehicles still discharge pollutants - from oil, brakes, tyres, heat damage and wear and tear on parts etc - and noise on the road surface.

Muu · 19/04/2023 23:10

I wouldn’t.

Original poster
fabulousfailure · 19/04/2023 23:12

Withnailandeye · 19/04/2023 22:36

I’m a surveyor and in my previous role I acted for highways England. When they want to widen a motorway for lane extension or improvements, they will take out 2/3 of those houses next door by powers of CPO, and then there are only 1/2 houses between you and a motorway fence.
It bothers you enough to post on here, don’t do it, houses near major infrastructure are difficult to sell without impacting value.

Wow. That's not something I'd even know about, to consider. Does that happen often?

OP posts:
Original poster
fabulousfailure · 19/04/2023 23:14

whynotwhatknot · 19/04/2023 22:39

my pollution level is so high i should apprently demand action!

yeah ok im sure the tories are just sitting there waiting for me to complain and fix it

anyway id say it was up to you-can you hear the noise in the garden?

Yes there is a noise like white noise or loud wind the whole time.

OP posts:
rosiebl · 19/04/2023 23:24

I like about half a mile from a major motorway. You can always hear it, inside and outside, as a kind of low rumble. Like white noise I guess. We've definitely got used to hearing it and don't actively hear it anymore.

notangelinajolie · 19/04/2023 23:25

Not for me but lots of people do live near motorways or roads with traffic noise.
I would only ever buy a house that I could sell easily so wouldn't buy this - even if I could blank out the noise from the garden, potential buyers may not be so keen.
Saying that all - 100% electric vehicles are not far off.

UsingChangeofName · 19/04/2023 23:28

YABU = it's not that bad, you can get used to it
YANBU = these are valid concerns, it is reasonable to hesitate in this situation

These aren't really binary choices though. I think both apply.

You are absolutely right to look up more information about things you are concerned about, but I am inclined to agree you 100% get used to the noise. Motorway noise is actually less disturbing than living in a busy town or city, because the traffic is usually just cruising along. Much more nose traffic comes from braking, people getting in and out of cars, people who have their music on at ridiculous volumes sitting in traffic near your house, emergency vehicle sirens, the noise from buses, lorries etc stopping and starting.

As has been said, the fact it is close to the motorway will be reflected in the price. Only you (and whoever you are buying with) will know if it is more important to have that extra bedroom, or that bigger garden, or the extra parking, or the extra large kitchen, or the utility room or extra Reception room or whatever it is you are gaining for the same price you wouldn't get else where. Or, if you are saving tens of thousands of pounds over getting all you would elsewhere.

Some people back on to a railway line, or live near a pub, or live on a busy road, and do so to gain things that they can't afford elsewhere. Each 'negative' bothers different people to a different extent. Each 'positive' is more tempting to one person than it is to the next.
Every house involves compromise somewhere along the line.

stickybear · 19/04/2023 23:31

I'm about a mile from a major motorway. It's a rural area and there's nothing much but fields between us and the road. On a nice bright day with the wind blowing in the right direction we don't hear a thing, but when it's been wet and the wind is blowing our way then it is really noticeable. If you haven't already then I'd definitely recommend viewing the property on a rainy day and seeing what difference it makes.

Crimblecrumble1990 · 19/04/2023 23:31

Assuming the price reflected this it wouldn't necessarily turn me off.

I grew up in a house near the motorway and having lived there my whole life I didn't even notice the noise. As you say it was a constant white noise.

However my mother always hated it and it drove her to despair, especially if the wind was blowing in the wrong direction.

EconomyClassRockstar · 19/04/2023 23:32

My PIL live near a motorway but you wouldn't know it as you're driving to their house as it's beautiful but then you get out of the car and that's all I can hear. It's about a mile away so not right on their doorstep.

EconomyClassRockstar · 19/04/2023 23:36

I should add, I'm typing this from my lovely home, listening to planes going over landing at a massive airport. You get used to all of it!

TeenLifeMum · 19/04/2023 23:42

Our house backs onto the main road in our town. I was really worried but opinions were limited and it ticked every other box. Reality is, from 7pm it’s silent and weekends it isn’t very busy. If it’s wet outside, dd2 used to complain it was noisy but she’s used to it now. When they dug up the road at 2am for planned work that they forgot would include our end I did go nuts at the contractor (if they’d included it in the plans I would have booked a hotel that night!) as the whole house shook from pneumatic drills about 2.5 meters from my house (non urgent work). Other than that, it’s been fine. I assume country lanes get dug up too.

MagiMagic · 19/04/2023 23:48

It be a definite no for me. I lived in a rental close to a motorway and the noise and dirt bothered me even though it was a temporary home.

feeona123 · 19/04/2023 23:51

I live very close to the M4 some days you can hear it, others you can’t depending on the wind! I live in a village with lots of trees so not worried in the slightest about air pollution.

You do get used to the noise after a while.

ilovewispas · 19/04/2023 23:59

I'd say just don't do it. The health impacts just aren't worth the risk.

Cattenberg · 20/04/2023 00:05

I’ve read much the same as you about the health risks of living close to a motorway. I wouldn’t buy a house like this. That said, I wouldn’t live in an inner city (or anywhere in London) either, even though several million people do.

Pluvia · 20/04/2023 00:13

If 9 out of 10 people wouldn't consider buying it because of noise or pollution issues, it may not increase in value at the same rate as other properties because so few people would consider it. I wouldn't consider it a good investment.

trampoline123 · 20/04/2023 00:14

I wouldn't.

We're renting a few streets back from a busy A road and hate it for these reasons:

  1. Noise
  2. Pollution and air quality
  3. I'm forever dusting and I'm sure it's from the road

There is a website where you out in the postcode and it tells you the pollution levels.

Meteormetro · 20/04/2023 00:16

I never could live like this voluntarily. You couldn't sit out, your children will breathe fumes, you can't open the window without noise, it's just horrific.

Itslookinglikeabeautifulday · 20/04/2023 01:17

I live near one - rural yet near motorway. We've been here 21 years and still love our house. In winter it can be noisy in garden....but we don't spend any time in garden in winter! Come summer I think the wind must be generally from a different direction as it's far quieter. Plus the trees between us and motorway have leaves on, which helps dissipate the noise. Not a problem for us.