Would you buy a house next to sports pitches?

[somersetsoul]

Found a lovely house but there's just a fence and hedge between the house and well used rugby and football pitches. They also have flood lights for night time use.

I know this will drive me mad but dp isn't bothered. Pg with dc3 so I'm thinking practically!

Wwyd??

I think it's a bit 'know your enemy' @peteneras. A sports pitch that may be used 2 hours a day could be better than lots of other houses, a noisy neighbour, a shop that kids hang around outside or a beautiful field (that's just been bought by developers...). You have to live next to something!

I wouldn't because of the noise and I work shifts sometimes

In the summer, might it not be used for cricket which could be all day Sat & Sun? As p say, it is not just lights but the shouting of the players to each other that might be intrusive.

Is it locked up outside of club use or can local children use it? If not locked, it would probably be noisy during school holidays and summer evenings and weekends.

I'd need more details really but not a no at this stage for me.

I would say no. We have one a few streets away - only a local, medium sized village football club - they have lots of matches, training a couple of times a week and the noise really travels. They have pretty fruity language as well - so worth considering that in the summer months with the kids' windows open it'll be even louder. I''m just glad we aren't right next door. The shouting is probably what I notice the most.
They also rent out the club house for weekend parties so there is added noise then. We are just about far enough away for it not to bother me too much, but had to comment as today's supporters had drums and were very vocal. Just pleased it's been chucking it down all day.

I used to live quite close to a sports field... never again

The noise, the language, the complete disregard for anyone drove many up the wall

I would double check to see if there is s pedestrian entrance to the field from the new housing estate! Because trust me if there is I can almost guarantee regardless of how much available "official" parking there is, some selfish entitled arse holes will decide it's more convenient to park in your road, block your drive, drive through your estates at high speed with total disregard for anyone other than themselves....

The lights and noise of matches would really put me off. Plus, you need to consider whether the grounds are ever used for anything else like events/fayers etc.

I used to live next door to tennis courts, and the floodlighting was governed by planning regulations, as I discovered when the courts were refurbished. It wasn't an issue at all. I could have amassed hundreds of tennis balls if I'd wanted, though!

I play a sport on AstroTurf with floodlights for the evenings. Every night of the week (weeknights) the floodlights are on until 9pm for training but at the weekend are usually off by 6pm.

The pitch is hardly used during the day in the week apart from some afternoon school matches, but is busy during the weekends. Generally though sports clubs can be fairly considerate neighbours who are part of the community - and could be handy when your kids are older.

I would say that it depends on the sport!! If it's Hockey and Rugby you'll have voices and shouting but little swearing as they get penalised by the umpires/referees for bad language. If it's football they tend to be inconsiderate fuckers who swear like troopers.

I would visit on a Saturday afternoon and see what it's like. Go round the club and find out their rules on floodlight usage.

If is a busy popular club it's unlikely that the fields will be built on.

We have houses near us that are adjacent to the village football field and behind the goal. They have mesh fencing at the ends of their gardens (which, tbh are not very big) which is level with the height of their guttering, and this is to stop badly aimed balls from connecting with their windows. If your proposed house is near the goal mouth, do consider whether this might be a neccesity. I often look at this fencing and think it must be like having a garden inside a prison yard.

I wouldn’t do it! We live 200 meters from our local playing fields and I get irritated on Sunday mornings when I can hear the shouting and the whistle blowing in the distance.

I live in a very residential area with just housing around mainly (shops 10 min walk away) There is one at the end of our road about 10-12 houses away and we can STILL hear the shouting. The language is terrible sometimes but I don’t often hear exactly what is being said unless I’m near it. I imagine the people directly by it would hear every word when sitting out in their garden at the weekend or even inside with the windows open. They also have events on during school holidays from 8am with music and talking over a tannoy which is REALLY loud. I work term time only so it does piss me off but I tell myself it’s only for 2 weeks.

Beware of the regulations changing. When we first bought our house the actual pitches were positioned further away on the field so as not to cause a disruption. They then changed it so that there is a pitch right by the wall adjoining that end of the road (it’s a dead end road) and put more floodlights up. It did get worse then. Although at least they bricked up the small entrance from the end of our road onto the field at the same time and made the main entrance in a More convenient place for residents the opposite side of the field.

We’re actually have a totally different sports field in the other direction too. That was only used for Saturday morning kids football for years but parking was a pain, the parents parked anywhere and didn’t respect the fact that on a Saturday and Sunday morning some people wanted a bit of a lie in and would be talking loudly going past our window with their kids’ boots clack clacking along the pavement. The local roads are gridlocked at certain times too with car horns going and people shouting at each other. They are now widening access to make it a much bigger football hub with more games on. There were a lot of complaints so they have agreed to build a proper car park on the field itself rather than to disrupt residents further and put 20mph signs on lamp posts.

We were aware of none of this when we bought the house years ago. We even have a pub within view of my house 30 seconds walk away and we get less noise from that than the sports fields!

I'd want a significant discount off the market rate for a house not near a stadium.