Living on the South Circular Road (Living on a busy road)

martindow

I think this is a very individual choice. Some people don't seem to notice or be worried by traffic noise for others it rules a house out entirely. We can't advise you on this.

Clearly the unattractiveness of the position is reflected in the price of this house. Even if the noise didn't rule it out, I would worry about the long term effects of the fumes and dust I would be breathing in.

hazyjo

Do you drive? Is there off street parking for more than one car? I would hate having to pull off that road to park or pull out. It would drive me mad that I'd have to pull onto it to get anywhere. I remember driving round it once thinking it's be the most straightforward route - OMG it too HOURS. Ridiculously busy road. The North Circular is very near to me now and it's busy and slow, but the South seems even worse to me. It's not always a dual/triple, etc carriageway road from memory, it seems to meander through other towns in single lanes - themselves full of heavy stop-start traffic.

In answer to your question, no, I wouldn't live on it, or any busy road. But then I have a cat, so that'd be out of the question for me.

My ex lived on the North Circular with friends for a while - said it actually wasn't too bad. I couldn't have done it though! My BF's flat was on a side turning that lots used as a cut-through. It is very annoying if the lounge is at the front (as his was) and you're watching telly. You miss so much cos of something whizzing past.

Jx

Tancred

dominoman wrote: »

I am looking at a house on the South Circular in London. It's a busy, noisy road.

Would you buy a house on a busy road? The upside is its a nice, big house - though probably much bigger than we need realistically. If it wasn't on the S circular I could never afford it.

I also have the option of a house on a quiet road nearby which is very nice, is cheaper, and is closer to the station, but is also a fair bit smaller. Not sure whether the noise will compensate for the extra size?

Do you live on a busy road, and would you do it again?

I was on the verge of buying a house 180 ft from the M4 and in the end decided against. I have no regrets. It was in brilliant condition and would have been £10k cheaper than the one I'm currently buying; it also included a fantastic NEFF fitted kitchen with all bells and whistles imaginable. In the end, I just could not bear the constant whirring noise that would never go away.
It was painful to withdraw because I really loved that house! However, ultimately I know that I would have ended up hating it. It was the right decision.

cattie

I moved last year from a very busy road, but the traffic noise wasn't intrusive as the living room, kitchen & two bedrooms, bathroom & separate wc all overlooked the rear of the property & garden. Only one bedroom & the dining room overlooked the road.

If you were in the garden or had the rear windows or doors opened you were only really aware of noise from the road when there were emergency vehicles with sirens went whizzing by.

Anybody sleeping in the one bedroom that had windows to the front of the house was affected by noise issues when wanting to have the windows opened at night when sleeping. You weren't really aware of noise when windows closed due to double glazing.

When I came to sell the house there were a handful of viewers that were put off by the fact that it fronted a very busy road & of course I'd have got a better price for the house had it been in a nice quiet side street.

I've lived in a few other places on quite busy roads in my younger days, as when living close to the centre of London you don't always really have much choice.

Now I live somewhere very quiet & wondered if it would be too quiet for me after always having traffic going by outside, but no, I've quickly become used to the tranquillity & nothing but trees & greenery when I look out of the windows.

Fern123

Hi dominoman.

I live just off the South Circular (i.e. number 9 on a road which adjoins it, so a few houses down). I don't find the noise a problem at all, I don't notice it, and we sleep with the windows open in the summer. I actually like the safety of having people/cars around when walking home late at night. However we are obviously set back from the road so you will be facing much higher noise levels.

I think it depends on:

How set back the property is from the road? If it has a sizeable area in front of the property then this will make a huge difference.
Does it have/can you pay for double glazing and other noise-reducing measures?
Are you happy to sleep with the windows closed in the summer?
Are the bedrooms at the front or the back?
Are you/your family heavy sleepers?

I also live under the flight path but didn't notice the noise of that after a few days of living here.

johnmcga

Personally, no, I wouldn't buy it. This is why:

- My girlfriend used to live by a busy road by a big junction. Although there wasn't much traffic at night, you'd get ambulances going through with sirens on and boy racers with loud exhausts. I found this more disruptive than the constant, steady noise during the day.

- The place used to get filthy on the outside.

- I'm not keen on the health implications of living right beside a busy road. I'm sure there are differing opinions, but surely having all those particulates metres from your door can't be ideal. Maybe a relevant story here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/1839957.stm

I remember seeing a documentary a few years back about people who live right beside the A40 in west London. Many had been there since before the road became such a busy, multi-lane monster. One bloke was frustrated because it meant he couldn't even cross his road any more without taking a footbridge.

Your priorities may vary of course, but I think it's worth thinking about those points.

RupertTheCat

I live on a busy main road, though nowhere near as bad as the South Circular. It is noisy, but I installed secondary double glazing on the windows at the front of the house and that seriously cut the noise down. I can hardly hear anything now.

theGrinch

I lived on a main road off North Circular a few years back. Plenty of rush hour traffic, but outside those times it wasnt too bad (80s and 90s). When I came to leave I had noticed a significant increase in traffic over the years. This will only get worse.

The advantage was nice large distance between the two sides of the road with greenery in between. After a while you dont notice the noise unless you are outside. But sirens and pollution arent great.

Now - I wouldnt live on a busy road like S.Circular.

butterfly72

No don't do it! My OH shared a house on the SC many years back. Needless to say he didnt stay long. It was noisy - sirens, cars and a surprising amount of lorries and vans day and night. The house was fairly close to the road and the front was filthy. The volume of traffic was immense and you could smell the fumes.

Metranil_Vavin

I shared a flat with a friend of mine that was right on the Hanger Lane Gyratory, in the mid 90's.

The flat itself was lovely inside and we were very house proud, but oh my goodness the noise from the roundabout was horrendous at all times of day and night.

We could never have the living room windows open as fumes belched into the flat, and when we finally moved out and took our furniture away, there were filthy lines in the shape of what was once there, left behind.

Never again!