Buying a house on a busy road

[Mamma1291]

Hello all,

We are on the hunt for our forever home and have found one that ticks all of the boxes and a little more. It’s also below budget which is ideal.

The only thing holding me back is that it is on a busy road. To help paint a picture, we live in a coastal town so it’s not a city, the house has a driveway so is set back slightly from the road, enough to fit two cars parked side ways in front of it. The road is a b class road with a 30mph speed limit. It can be busy with buses (maybe every hour throughout the day) and cars, there is a train station across the road too. There is a traffic light crossing around 400 yards away.

I am not concerned about the noise, we have lived in a flat that has been on a busy street and we became used to this.

my concerns are;

1. we have a 2 year old, is this going to be a concern with regards to her safety when she is older and becoming more independent and wanting to go out to meet friends etc? A long way off I know but we don’t want to have to move again for a long time. I’m content enough this won’t be an issue just now as the front garden is enclosed (if we put a gate over the drive) as is the rear garden. She would also not be left unsupervised.
2. is air pollution likely to be a problem/cause for concern?

im hoping some of you can share your own experiences and if this has been an issue for anyone?

feeling a bit overwhelmed with the house hunting and worried im overthinking this! Don’t want to buy a house and regret it but equally don’t want to pass on a great family home because I got into my own head too much!

I have attached pictures of the house and road to either side.

We’re on a main-ish road in London and it’s pretty chill, there’s a 20mph limit and an ULEZ. The house was also incredibly good value (for London, haha) as it’s still priced as if everyone is in smoky diesels and using leaded petrol. We’ve not had an issue with safety although DCs never really have to cross. The street lighting is decent too. Don’t do it if it’s a perma traffic jam or a lorry route. Otherwise go for it.

House buying ALWAYS involves compromising.

We bought on a busy road 25 years ago, because it meant we could afford a MUCH bigger house than others we'd looked at. It has 100% been the right decision for us, and we don't have anything like the room at the front you have, and it sounds as though the road we are on is much busier than the road you are describing.

I'm a bit confused about your safety concerns. By the time your dd is old enough to go out alone, she will hopefully have enough awareness of road safety issues. If she doesn't, then she'd be in trouble if she lived 1/2 a mile back from the road, when she reached your road on her way to wherever she was going.

I wouldn't ... air quality is paramount to health

Personally I would prioritise air quality if there's a young child or other vulnerable person around. There's usually a lot of pollution around busy B roads.