Would you buy a house next to a petrol station?

Din85

Just to be different.... I don't think it would bother me too much.

My sister in law lived next to a Morrison's petrol station a few years back, no issues, in fact I lived a couple of doors from a rural ford garage with petrol station for a couple of years, in either case I dont ever remember lots of noise, or the smell/fumes.

I lived in a block of flats next to a main Audi dealer also, that was worse as they did have 4am parts deliverys which could be noisy, no fuel station there though.

The explosion risk really would not bother me in the slightest, as said, when was the last petrol station explosion you remember ?

If anything I would see it as a positive, if you run out of bread or milk you could probably just pop next door !

alexanderalexander

On these "should I buy this house because of [x,y,z, trivial drawback]" threads the replies are invariably very negative. I sometimes wonder if anyone would ever buy any house if they always asked on MSE first!

My view: safety risks are negligible. To my mind the only draw-back is the aesthetic (petrol stations aren't exactly the most beautiful places). It looks like a quiet semi-rural area so I don't expect it'd be noisy at night, but if you're worried you can do some due diligence on that.

greenface

I lived next door to a petrol station , quiet not too busy with a MOT base on it too . then one closed down the road and then it became 24hr different world . Car doors slamming . pumps clanging in and out ,Radios booming with windows and doors open. shouting "They havent got kitkats what do you want ?" seriously i felt sorry for the people that bought the house from us because i was at the end of my tether . Lived opposite a busy pub , a supermarket carpark/loading bay. & a school . Nothing nowhere near as bad as the petrol station .

TBagpuss

I wouldn't have major concerns about the risk of fire / explosion (it's not something that seems to happen much!)

I would however be thinking about things such as:
- whether there would be additional traffic noise, particularly at night, from people using he petrol station
- other noise - how loud is that car wash, for instance?
- whether it will make access to the house more difficult - queueing traffic, visibility issues if people are pulling into or out of the garage etc.
- deliveries - how often and what times of day?
- Noise and smell - is it going to affect you if you are out in the garden during the summer, for instance?


I personally probably wouldn't - I tend to notice noise a lot and I know from experience that vehicles stopping and starting is much more noticeable than if you simply have traffic passing.

I would not go so far as to say I'd never buy a house by a petrol station but I would certainly think twice about it and would probably not be prepared to pay as much as for a similar house not next door to a garage!

Definitely visit at different times of day to get a feel for how busy it is - and ask staff there about the normal times for deliveries. etc.

ReadingTim

It might just be me, but I suspect it's no coincidence that the place directly opposite has a huge hedge between the petrol station and the houses... Your potential house has very little in the way of fencing, especially at the back - could rather ruin attempts to enjoy sitting out on a summer's day, plus your washing would always smell of car exhausts...

The petrol station looks to have quite a lot of space - how would you feel if it was decided to put a mini supermarket there as well as the petrol station? Or extend the opening hours to 24hrs? Finally, it might not always be a petrol station, but there might be difficulties (contaminated land etc) in allowing residential development - could the next use be even worse?

Strapped

What happens when a petrol station floods I wonder - risk of contamination?

Personally, it would be too close for me - lots of noise from traffic all day long, slamming doors, etc.

movilogo

You will be fine. Just make sure you negotiate a good deal using this as an excuse. Even if you don't have a problem, you may suffer when selling in future.

fudgecat

One thing you will need to think about apart from noise and smell is that there will be bright lights on under the canopy and this looks as if it would be quite intrusive (probably explains the tall hedge over the road).

FelinePrincess

RichardD1970 wrote: »

Err, how often has anyone heard of a petrol station exploding?

I agree with this, it's pretty unheard of and I would worry too much about it exploding.

Living next door to a petrol station wouldn't be my first choice but if it ticked all the boxes at a reasonable price I'd go for it

yorkshire_terrier_owner

I lived directly opposite a tesco express with a petrol station for 8 years. There was never a smell of fumes that I was aware of, and it wasn't particularly noisy. Very handy when I needed a loaf of bread etc. it didn't really bother me.

When the tanks came the only problem was they blocked off the forecourt so everyone parked on the road, but this was only for a few minutes each day. It got ram raided once in the middle of the night but I never heard anything. Insurance wasn't a problem and it never exploded!

The only thing that did bother me was the undesirable types it attracted, but then to be fair it wasn't in the best of areas. In a more rural location this would be less of a problem.

The area it was in, I had bigger problems to worry about than the petrol station!