Pylons

[Pylon123]

Would you live 0.25 miles from a pylon? We are looking at a house that is perfect in every way, apart from the fact that there are a couple of pylons in the fields beyond. It is a new development but once constructed there will be several streets between us and the pylons. There seems to be conflicting information online...we have three young children and my husband is very unsure about the possible health implications.

Thanks!

I do t know how close is too close but you can buy an EMR meter for about £100 on Amazon and measure it your self and compare to where you live now or other areas.

You may not be able to get a mortgage if the house is within a certain distance of a pylon as we have found to our cost.

MrsPatmore - how far from the pylon was the house that you were looking at? There are other properties in the village that are much closer to the pylons, so hopefully that wouldn’t be a problem. Good to know though!

Should be fine... bloody loud if you are really close though

You might have issues with the re-sale.
Apparently they attract a lot of fine dust particles.
Can you put a massive tree in the garden so it is not so overlooked.
We looked at a house near pylons and there were some issues apparently if they are less that 500 metres away - I don’t remember what though.

They are extremely noisy when the air is damp/wet, the humming is v loud.

I have also seen science experiments where they've stuck a load of long halogen lightbulbs (like the type you get in a kitchen strip light) with one end in the ground under the pylons and they lit up on their own! I wouldn't live near one personally.

Worth going on a damp day to see if you can hearthem from the house

About 500 metres away - turned down by Virgin Money and tentative enquires with Nat West and Santander said likely to make the same decision. Shame, as the house was a 'dream house' and within budget (but now we know why!). There must be lenders out there that will lend but we decided to drop out due to resale.

Sorry to hear that MrsPatmore. This one is about 400m so potentially the same issues. Ah well, maybe back to the drawing board!

On the plus side, you should be able to negotiate a discount, on the minus side you may have to sell on at a discount...

I live not too far away from a pylon and it doesn't bother me, I barely even see it now. As others have said, in certain weather conditions you can hear a hiss, usually when it's damp and foggy. I had no issues getting a mortgage, but that was 12 years ago and it was much easier then.

There is no reliable evidence of any health risk associated with living close to pylons, despite what some webpages claim. Unfortunately, the perceived risk does affect resale and banks' willingness to lend.

We live about 100m from one. Fortunately the lines aren't across our property. We thought about not buying the house, but the pylon made it affordable! We're in a small hamlet with no more than 12 houses and most of the other occupants live/d to be 80+
It crackles when it rains or the weather is damp, you get used to it and don't really notice it after a short while.

Depends on the local micro climate. If there is a predominant wind that pushes vehicle fumes past the pylons they will become charged. The particles will then need to find a local point to Earth to due to polarity. The TL;DR is that if you want grey sheets that hang out to dry and lung problems for years then don't worry. Additionally if you don't worry about general malaise, unknown illness and general sickness then don't worry.
Otherwise run away and find somewhere else. I know what I'd be doing for my three children under 9. X

I don't think enough is known, but there are number of published reports citing health risks, including leukaemia. Personally, I would not live near one and I would think young children may be at increased risk.

Came across this which might be helpful for anyone in the same situation www.powerwatch.org.uk/library/downloads/emf-property-02-2017-10.pdf.

Interesting that there's a real lack of hard scientific data about the health dangers of pylons, but when it comes to road traffic pollution and general pollution in the air and seas there seems to be less concern from many?

Anyway I'm glad I didn't let anything put us off buying this countryside property, but everyone needs to make up there own mind, weigh up the pros and cons.

I think it should be fine. Everything causes cancer it seems smart phones, tablets, tv, radio etc etc are you going to bubble your children from everything? If the pylon isn't directly above the house, then it's a non issue and every house will have some issue (ie damp, waste centres, busy road, crime, what was there before, asbestos in land, mining etc) I think you kind of have to let the idea of a perfect plot go and I think a pylon is relatively harmless when compared with other issues.

Treebauble - the more I read, the more this is what I’m starting to think. We currently live less than half a mile from the M4, presumably there are possible health implications of that too! The pylon isn’t visible from the garden either. And I suppose if we intend it to be a long-term home (& manage to get the house at a good price), the resale implications might not be too much of a problem...

Came across this which might be helpful for anyone in the same situation

Powerwatch is a lobby group who pedal pseudoscience and misrepresent scientific evidence. They contribute to public misunderstanding of the risks associated with power lines and other sources of non-ionising radiation such as mobile phone masts.

Ah interesting, I wasn’t aware of that!

BTW @Pylon123 I came across the Powerwatch stuff too when we were thinking about buying this place - as has been said there's lots of pseudoscience being pedalled about, but who needs experts, huh?