Electricity sub station

Jamie_Carter

Lord_Baltimore wrote: »

There's something similar to that where I used to live. The humming is brain-washing and, let's face it, it just ain't beautiful.

Well complain about the noise. It could be faulty.

Jamie_Carter

Raksha wrote: »

At least its enclosed less likely to get vandalised. I lived near one that was, and it went BANG in a big way one Sunday morning

That can happen on very rare occasions. But this one is fully enclosed, so the worst that will happen is the doors may get blown open, and your cat might get a fright.

Jamie_Carter

ValHaller wrote: »

415V is low voltage when it comes to warning signs

It would still have warning signs. As would the doors of the building.

Maybe it used to house a substation but has now been taken over be BT or Virgin.

Jamie_Carter

Moonraker71 wrote: »

Hi Joujou,

I thought I'd just chime in, as I just withdrew my offer on a house with a sub-station at the rear on Monday last week.

The house was a tiny converted fire station, really nicely done and had been on the market for over a year at a reasonable price. I'd had my eye on it all this time and wondered why it hadn't sold. When I got an offer on my place I decided to go and view, though I admit I was put off by the sub-station with its big yellow "Danger of Death" warning signs all over it. However, the estate agent told me it had been decommissioned and was just sitting there dormant because it was "cheaper for the council to leave it in situ than dismantle it."

I felt reassured enough by this to put an offer in. Then I did my own homework and discovered via a call to UK Power Networks that this was an outright lie. It was still fully operational. I withdrew my offer because a) I believed this was the main reason the property had been on the market so long and I worried about re-sale and b) I was concerned that some kind of media story (whether scaremongering or genuine) might pop up in the future about new research indicating there *are* health risks after all (I could just picture a Daily Mail "New research proves sub-stations DO cause cancer" double page spread). And I felt if this happened, the property could seriously drop in value.

I'm not a totally risk averse person - I've now put an offer in on a house just on the border of a flood plain - but I just felt this wasn't for me. Yours is not actually attached to the house though, and I think that makes a big difference. Mine was fenced to the back wall.

Incidentally, my dad bumped into one of the neighbours who used to work there when it was a fire station and he said it hummed absolutely relentlessly and drove everyone crazy. Just another thing to bear in mind.

Good luck whatever you decide to do.

And that's what substations should have.

Lord_Baltimore

Jamie_Carter wrote: »

It could be faulty.

And if it isn't?

I suspect any complaint would be met with "Do you want power or quiet?"

Both.

Jamie_Carter

Lord_Baltimore wrote: »

And if it isn't?

I suspect any complaint would be met with "Do you want power or quiet?"

Both.

Then it's probably very old and needs replacing.

The only ones that should be that loud are the huge distribution sites. And these don't tend to be next to houses.

joujou

Well - this substation doesn't have any warning signs. There is a "collect your dog's poo" small sign on its front gate.

There is no noise coming out of it, unless you stand close in which case you hear the small humming noise. It would probably be more prominent at night, something that I will test.

The white label at the front says substation number xxxxxx, property of national grid....

Still thinking of it. The large garden is very appealing. Although thinking about it a bit more and the price they paid in 2005, I think it's a bit on the overpriced side.

Jamie_Carter

joujou wrote: »

Well - this substation doesn't have any warning signs. There is a "collect your dog's poo" small sign on its front gate.

There is no noise coming out of it, unless you stand close in which case you hear the small humming noise. It would probably be more prominent at night, something that I will test.

The white label at the front says substation number xxxxxx, property of national grid....

Still thinking of it. The large garden is very appealing. Although thinking about it a bit more and the price they paid in 2005, I think it's a bit on the overpriced side.

You could put in a low offer.

Others may be having the same doubts as you, s o there is a good chance that they might accept a low price.

Lord_Baltimore

joujou wrote: »

......you hear the small humming noise. It would probably be more prominent at night, something that I will test.

Oh-oh. I would walk. I can't emphasise enough how much this might affect the quality of your life.

There are properties everywhere without this potential for unpicking your nerves - buy one of those instead.