Newish housing development - house beside man made ponds or substation

[ministapler]

A bit of general advice needed as dire shortage of property in our area and we've been sold since mid january but few houses are coming up in the area we want.

Two fantastic houses, pratically same prices but different areas of the new estate.

House #1 has an electricity substation about 90ft away from side of garden and about 50 ft away from driveway.cant see it from inside house or when in garden but will drive past it everytime pull in and out of drive. I dont know why but worried about high voltage underground lines (not worried about electro magnetic fields at this distance).

House #2 has a balancing/ draining pond with no fencing about 50 ft away from front door and is in a very slightly nicer area.

im not particularly crazy about the the pond and substation but we've been searching for weeks and nothing has come up and we want to stay in the new build area due to schooling and its "easy reach of train station" location. also, have a crazy 2 year old and a chilled out 6 year old to consider.

i feel slightly less worried about the pond house as rear garden is brick walled and gated and would never need to use front door.

There's something about a substation that is "off" for me too.

i also fixate and over think situations too and dh has no real concerns about either and is waiting for me.

What are the pro and cons of both? anyone have any experiences to share? appreciate im being very general but dont want to out myself.

I'd go with the pond. Much nicer than the substation and a known risk - I don't particularly believe a substation is a health risk but it is more of an unknown than a pond plus the hypothetical/imagined risk does seem to put people off.

Surface water management (balancing) lakes are not really planted as nature ponds though. I pass quite a few and they don't seem to attract wildlife. They are full when it rains and a bit manky when they are dry in the summer. I have never seen an attractive one. In my opinion they should be fenced. They often have fairly steep sides and if a child fell in they would struggle to get out. Some have life saving rings available! I never think they are safe for children but you need to educate your children if you live near one. As for your dilemma - neither for me but balancing lake if I had to.

None are fenced in my area.

I've not seen a fenced one either. I can understand the need for them, but they look bloody dangerous to me.