[New Build] Living next to a motorway

ActionMan

Hi there,

I'm considering a new build house fairly close to a motorway.

I'm concerned about the motorway noise and the pollution. I've looked at the pollution and noise stats from their planning permission but it's hard to understand.

Their assessment states the external noise levels on site can reach 69 dB(A) during the day.

The houses will start about 100 - 200m from the motorway at a guess.

Can anyone share any experiences living near to a motorway please?

Thanks!

Sarahj1590

Hi

I've recently moved to a newbuild within close proximity to a motorway.

Noise isn't bad, I guess it depends how busy that particular stretch of motorway is. We also have triple glazing.

tomtontom

http://www.industrialnoisecontrol.com/comparative-noise-examples.htm

Some interesting comparisons on the above site. It would be too loud for me, but then I like my peace and quiet.

ReadingTim

Sarahj1590 wrote: »

Noise isn't bad, I guess it depends how busy that particular stretch of motorway is. We also have triple glazing.

Triple glazing's great, assuming the windows are shut - it's of less use if you want the windows open to get some fresh air into the house, or to cool it down in summer.

OP - suggest you have a think about the extent to which you do like having the windows open, or being outside in the garden - a motorway relatively close might hamper your enjoyment of being outside you own house should you live there...

Dan-Dan

ActionMan wrote: »

Hi there,

I'm considering a new build house fairly close to a motorway.

I'm concerned about the motorway noise and the pollution. I've looked at the pollution and noise stats from their planning permission but it's hard to understand.

Their assessment states the external noise levels on site can reach 69 dB(A) during the day.

The houses will start about 100 - 200m from the motorway at a guess.

Can anyone share any experiences living near to a motorway please?

Thanks!

Buy somewhere else!

Sarahj1590

ReadingTim wrote: »

Triple glazing's great, assuming the windows are shut - it's of less use if you want the windows open to get some fresh air into the house, or to cool it down in summer.

OP - suggest you have a think about the extent to which you do like having the windows open, or being outside in the garden - a motorway relatively close might hamper your enjoyment of being outside you own house should you live there...

I regularly have windows open, as I too like fresh air, and the noise isn't a problem. The triple glazing is a nice extra though to really drown out any noise (from the motorway or otherwise) and keeps the heat IN (after all we do live in the UK).

pinkteapot

Look on Google Earth for residential streets a similar distance from the motorway, elsewhere along it. Go and spend some time there, walking around and listening.

With a motorway, it'll be a steady all-day hum. Whether it bothers you is a personal thing - some people learn to ignore it, some can't.

https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=1006022208329 - best-rated answer says it's similar to the noise in an aircraft cabin during flight.

Gigervamp

I live next to the M4. You get used to the noise and only notice it when there has been an accident and the traffic has stopped. Then you notice how quiet it is!

As for pollution, I've not noticed any traffic fumes, but we do have a lot of trees around us, so I don't know if that makes a difference.

It's usually pretty quiet at night, although being where we are, we do get a lot of lorries go past at about 2-3am, on their way to or from the docks at Swansea.

Wyndham

I live about 50ft from the M6. We have our garden, trees and part of a field between us and the motorway.

We do hear it, but as it's a constant noise I don't mind it. You can also hear it from further away than our house when you are outside, and I know you can hear it in a friend's house which must be 500ft from the motorway.

However, we do hear noise from cars on the road at the front of the house. It's used as a rat run, and of course, isn't a constant noise like the motorway.

It happens to be that the town we live in is "long and thin", with the motorway, the main A road and the railway all going along that line. It's difficult to get a house that isn't by at least one of these, and when we were looking at options we decided the constant of the motorway was better than the intermittent noise of the other two.

clint_S

I currently live 1 mile away from a motorway and 500m from a railway line. The railway line can clearly be heard outside and occasionally inside depending on the trains.


When looking for new builds we found a house we really liked, it was a few hundred meters from the motorway and you couldn't hear the traffic from the inside. Unfortunately we spend a lot of time outside and the constant noise when you were outside, and even could be heard when the windows were open, meant the wife said no.


Some people grow accustomed to the noise and simple don't hear it after a short time living there, others don't.

Out,_Vile_Jelly

My boyfriend lives near the M25, which is a constant low thrum in the background. You don't really notice it when it's a steady, regular sound. Far more annoying is the raucous barking from the neighbours' wretched dogs either side, interspersed with them yelling at the beasts to SHUDDUP.