It is never easy telling a proud home owner that the value of their property is affected by the close proximity of a main road. Over the years reactions have ranged from denial to justifications as to why I am wrong. 

Such justifications include 'I never get snowed in', 'it takes me no time to reach the motorway', 'it’s much quieter than living in London' and 'the school bus stops outside'. All of these may be entirely true of course, but for many living in the countryside is all about peace and tranquility.

Such tranquility is always relative. Living in the middle of a town or village will by definition mean that you are likely to be close to a road but the benefit of being able to walk to the pub, to the primary school and the village shop far outweigh the inconvenience of any associated traffic noise.

The most compelling argument for proximity to a main road is not the avoidance of being snowed in or the convenient school bus, but a simple one of value. While we may be in a seller’s market at the moment, it wasn’t that long ago that the boot was on the other foot. Then a buyer prepared to accept a property with a noisy neighbour was able to find extraordinary value for money when compared with a more rural and quieter property. Have these canny buyers unwittingly been even cannier than they intended?

On Sunday morning I took my dog for her usual stroll across the Kent countryside. This weekly event follows a circular route of around five miles and results in the dog sleeping all afternoon and me feeling less guilty about overindulging at lunch. Despite its length the route only crosses one road and on nearing said road both dog and I started to cross, safe in the knowledge that no traffic could be heard for miles around. A moment later we narrowly avoided being run over by a Tesla. And that got me thinking.

The Government has decreed that first diesel and then petrol engines are to be phased out in a few years. While I am sure the change won’t happen overnight nor will traffic be silenced completely, if electric cars are to become the norm rather than the exception then those clients who extol the virtues of proximity to school buses, speed of reaching the motorway and never being snowed in may one day be able to add to that list the relative tranquility of a main road on their doorstep.

Further information

Contact Will Peppitt