A noisy road to riches: The advantages to living on a busy route

Desirable: Cottages line the main road through Shanklin, Isle of Wight

Most people want to live well away from the noise and pollution of Britain's 25,000 miles of roads.

But in these belt-tightening days, there is one compelling reason why you might want a roadside home - it will cost you less.

Fenella Russell-Smith, of estate agent Hamptons International, says many people change their minds about living on a busy street when they find how much more space they get for their money.

'Buyers can get somewhere that would ordinarily be way beyond their means. In today's market, this equates to a price reduction of 30 to 40 per cent and, in a strongly rising market, to 10 to 20 per cent,' says Russell-Smith.

You can see the price effect of a noisy road with properties such as a large house in Stretton-on-Fosse, Warks. It is on Fosse Way, an A-road, and has five bedrooms, off-road parking and a large garden.

Away from the traffic, it would sell for £500,000, but it is priced £350,000 through Hayman-Joyce.

'That's an awful lot of house for your money in this part of the Cotswolds,' says an agency spokeswoman. Ed Church, of Strutt & Parker in Canterbury, was brought up in a house on a main road and is a fan. 'Only a few decades ago, proximity to a main road was held in much higher regard, because it brought so many conveniences.'

Businessman Craig Moore and his wife Linda live on the busy A57 Liverpool Road, close to Warrington town centre.

He says: 'There are no parked cars obstructing the drive and easy access to wherever we want to go.'

The number of homes on main roads has boomed since 1997 thanks to government planning policies.

These insist developments have a higher density - so most new homes are flats, not houses - and are built, if possible, on brownfield sites, which often used to be old schools, offices or industrial sites near main roads.

So if you do live on a busy route, how can you minimise the downsides? Many main roads have sleeping policemen, pedestrian crossings, traffic lights and safety cameras to keep traffic speed low.

Most police forces and local councils encourage residents to suggest other measures.

And you won't be snowed in, because main roads are cleared first. Triple glazing - three layers of glass, with one highly-absorbent laminated safety glass - should keep out most noise.

It's about 40 per cent more expensive than conventional glazing, but it's effective and wil enhance the property when you sell. If you have a front garden, nurture a sound barrier.

Evergreens grow rapidly and are full-bodied. They make effective hedges that act as sound breaks and give some privacy. Gardening experts recommend yew, cotoneaster, boxwood and leylandii.

But the most effective action is to reconfigure the internal rooms.

'Rearrange accommodation so primary rooms face the back,' says James Greenwood, of buying agency Stacks.

'If possible, change the main access to the house so that you don't enter directly onto the road.'

With so many ways of counteracting the problem of noise, there are precious few reasons these days to reject a home near a road.

And who knows, with fuel prices soaring and increased awareness of global warming, traffic levels might well fall in years to come.



source: dailymail