Tram line being built at the bottom of my garden

PollyOnAMission

Apologies if I have posted this in the wrong place.

The tram line where I live is being extended and work has started to build the next part, backing on to the bottom of my garden. My garden is quite long, meaning the tramline will be about 50 metres from the corner of my house at the nearest point, with my 6ft garden fence and grass in between.

My position is nowhere near as bad as others on the street who have very small gardens; some of them will have the whole back side of their house only 5-10 metres from the tram

Predictably, everyone on the street has been receiving letters from various No Win, No Fee compensation specialists touting for business. They typically say that for a 15 - 20% fee, they will fight your corner for you to receive compensation due to impact on house prices etc. I assume there may also be an issue with construction noise/dust etc.

My initial thought is that these unsolicited companies will be offering a poor deal. If this tram development is likely to impact on the value of my house, and compensation is therefore due, I would like to follow it up if possible. I know very little about the issue, but I believe there is some clause in the Land Compensation Act that may entitle myself (and others on my street) to compensation. I am in no way a subscriber to the whole “compo culture” debacle, but it seems that a claim in these circumstances is above board and I really can’t afford to lose out on thousands off the value of my house.

Is anyone able to offer me any advice on this issue? I wouldn't know where to start in terms of pursuing this matter, yet don’t want to just get ripped off by companies who post letters through my door. I am also keen to hear opinions on what sort of noise/disruption I can expect to experience once the tram is operational. Does anyone else live near a tram line, and is it very noisy? Will having grass between my house and the tram reduce the impact compared to hard surfaces?


Thanks in advance for any comments J

HappyMJ

Was the land the tram line is on already a reservation for a rail or tram line when you bought your house?

Tram's are quiet. They are electric and just cruise by. You will feel them more than hear them.

cajef

business_man wrote: »

And why would you want to live at a tram track anyway?

Convenience, cheap travel, no need to pay for parking in town/city, lots of reasons especially if you rely on public transport.

BigAlC

HappyMJ wrote: »

Tram's are quiet. They are electric and just cruise by. You will feel them more than hear them.

I'd disagree with that entirely. Sure they are not as noisey as trains but they still make a racket when going past. Even more so if they decide to blast the horn at a driver / cyclist / pedestrian.

As you mentioned they will also cause some vibration when going past which depending on speed and the foundations laid for them can transfer towards house foundations and be detrimental over time.

PollyOnAMission

When I bought the house (5 or so years ago), there were some very early mumblings about possibly extending the tram line in this area, but nothing was decided. Things escalated after I'd been there a year or so; they've been fighting a battle ever since (lots of complaints in general) and the final decision was made in the past year or so I believe.

Good news that they are quiet (other than when they ding their bells I guess). Would the vibrations be less over grass than hard ground?

I am a bit concerned about the privacy aspect. They have felled lots of trees and vegetation on the site, which has left my garden very exposed! It would be a lot worse in winter without leaves on the trees in mine and my neighbours garden. It is made worse by the fact that the soon -to-be-tram land is currently on a raised embankment, however I believe they are planning to remove the embankment. This should at least mean I don't have people looking out of tram windows straight over my fence!

Taking my own personal feelings out of it regarding my house/garden, I'm undecided on this tram extension over all. I am all for greener public transport; I'm just not convinced how much it will be used when there are already frequent buses. Also, I've used the tram in the City before and found the prices to be extortionate. If the prices are low I can see it being well used and I would probably use it myself. I expect it would impact massively on the buses though. If the prices are high I can see it being a disaster.

Another concern is members of the public using the street (cul-de-sac that already has parking problems just with residents and visitors) as a pseudo park and ride as it would be very convenient for the tram stop. My gut feeling is that it would be a pain if they had to instate some kind of residents' parking scheme.

PollyOnAMission

BigAlC wrote: »

I'd disagree with that entirely. Sure they are not as noisey as trains but they still make a racket when going past. Even more so if they decide to blast the horn at a driver / cyclist / pedestrian.

As you mentioned they will also cause some vibration when going past which depending on speed and the foundations laid for them can transfer towards house foundations and be detrimental over time.

Yikes! I don't like the sound of that

cte1111

If you're talking about the Manchester Metrolink, then it was certainly on the cards well before you bought your house. I thought that nearly all of the extension is on the site of old train lines and had been reserved for the tram line for many years.

Apologies if it's not Manchester, please ignore if so.

PollyOnAMission

It's not Manchester

zagfles

I know a couple of people who live near the tram line and their experience is totally different. It depends how far from the nearest stop you are.

One of them lives near a stop and he thinks it's brilliant as it's very convenient when he wants to go into town and the trams are always going slow past his house so they don't make that much noise.

The other lives in between stops so they go thundering past, and it's a long'ish walk to the nearest stop so he has the worst of both worlds.

The tram here is cheaper than the buses generally! Though bus prices have risen astromically over the last few years.

penrhyn

Is this the Nottingham tram, works have started in the Lenton area.

HappyMJ

PollyOnAMission wrote: »

Yikes! I don't like the sound of that

I have a main train line 15 metres from my house and it is not a problem. The heavy freight trains move the ground and vibrate the house but the house will survive without any problem. The house is built to cope with ground movement.

Network rail's website http://www.networkrail.co.uk/aspx/1030.aspx
Vibrations from trains

Vibrations from trains are very unlikely to cause structural damage to houses and buildings near the railway. However we will investigate all cases when we receive a report from an independent surveyor.