Surely this pylon placement is criminal?

[Attenboroughsmistress]

On our hunt for property I came across this absolutely gorgeous listed farmhouse, a few acres, backs on to protected land and a lake, pool and tennis court - we couldn’t figure out why it had been for sale for a while and why it seemed cheaper than similar properties - was it structurally unsound or something? The lake floods regularly??…

Then I noticed the bloody great massive pylons that basically wrap it to the back and side! It almost seems criminal to put pylons so close to a listed property that has been there since 1600s, and then turn a corner with them and march them across the lovely lake — they’ve even built a little island for one of the pylons IN THE LAKE!

What on earth possessed the national grid to do this? Why not just put the pylons in an empty field or along the M4 which is also nearby and seems to be going in the same general direction?

I feel bad for the property owners, how they must have felt watching them go up. And for the people who enjoy hiking and sailing in the lakes, which must be a bit ruined by the pylons now too.

People who live near pylons, would this arrangement be a deal breaker for you? Do you worry about the whispers around health risks?

Just sad really! Always irks me when it seems like there were choices and a bad one was made.

Pylons are beautiful! I wish I had one in my garden. May they march majestically across our land forever.

The buzzing would definitely put me off, Ididn't know they buzzed! Not the hypothetical health concerns or the look of them though.

I quite enjoy an industrial vibe too. I absolutely love the look of wind turbines.

Do you know the area? It’s not the best place in West Berks to buy a house like that. It’s quite close to Burghfield which is an area to avoid if you can…

I'm with you on this. We've got a massive great hill behind us with aine of pylons disappearing over it.

They always make me think of Ents or giants marching off.

I also find the Steel Works in Port Talbot weirdly beautiful though so I may be a little odd.

Tell us more…

This really isn’t right.

Your friends should be compensated for loss of visual amenity from the house, potentially as much as up to 40% of the property valuation (the farmhouse not the full farm)
They need to get a company to negotiate this on their behalf, no one does that themselves it’s quite a complicated negotiation.

Councils and authorities are renowned for paying a pittance when it comes to compulsory purchase of a property or compensation for causing a serious blight. You can get the best representatives out there, but I get the impression they rather enjoy the power trip... and they know they have a budget to keep to for the project, so if they can save cash by crushing the little people, why not, eh?

Some of them even play the long game and exploit the fact that THEIR plans are going to directly devalue your property as an excuse to seriously down-value it for compensation purposes.

Wow what a stunning property and yes it’s criminal to put those hideous pylons there so close .

That is a seriously beautiful house - inside and out. You see so many amazing historic places when having a nosey on Rightmove that have been modernised inside to within an inch of their lives.

I realise it's 100% missing the point, but I really wouldn't want to live somewhere called Trash Green! Even if you search for it online (without adding 'Berkshire'), you just get endless adverts for garden waste companies!

Proximity to high tension cables, carried by pylons, was linked to increased childhood cancer risk. Not sure if this has been researched further. It used to be the three Ps to avoid when buying a house - pylons, pubs and public rights of way.

The pylons probably predate the listing.

Compulsory purchase is actually very hard to do. The majority of purchases are negotiated without the hassle of legal fees and courts that mean Compulsory Purchase

Obtaining the right to a CPO isn't simple, but negotiating the price can be a minefield. If instead of putting your house on the open market (with still no obligation to sell), a buyer was brought to you and you were told that you legally have to sell, and you have to sell to that buyer... do you really think you're going to get the very best price?

I agree.

The electric company should have asked the cables to levitate.

It's where they build nuclear warheads. Aldermaston (which most people have heard of) is mainly research.

AWE Burghfield is where they actually make the bombs.

My thoughts exactly @Littlepog .

they make nuclear bombs just off the M4 in Berkshire?!

Yes..... currently it is the Trident warheads but the UK has always manufactured its own nuclear weapons (it is just the delivery system that is sometimes bought in).
Berkshire isn't all Windsor, river Thames, Slough Trading Estate & M4 you know!

I remember the rail crash at Ufton Nurvet in 2004.
With all the activity, lights, sirens etc we thought something was happening at Aldermaston or Burfield until we saw the carnage caused by someone parking on the level crossing.☹️

Exactly this

There was one opposite my kids primary school and it buzzed constantly. I couldn’t live near it

Yes.

And a little way further down the M4 in Berkshire is the USAF's main European conventional weapons arms dump.

I was at a Bonfire Night party with some guys from Aldermaston when the crash happened @Nourishinghandcream . Since none of their phones/pagers went off, we reckoned we were safe.