House near an Artillery Base

fishpond

I don't care what you play, BUT PLAY IT LOUD!

davidmcn

"artillery" is probably a red herring for a city centre barracks - I presume they do the bangy stuff elsewhere?

As for value, I would have thought it's long been there and any effect has already been factored into local prices?

I'd be more put off by the thought of drunken squaddies in the local pubs.

JoJo1978

I used to live near a barracks in London, sadly made infamous by Lee Rigby's murder. Made no difference to house values per se. Squaddies in pubs and horse poo/early morning clip clopping were mild irritants.

As others have said might not be one forever. The old arsenal in Woolwich is now a gated community with its own pubs, shops, restaurants and artisan food market.

max11

Thank you guys, for the very useful comments, especially a couple of them!

stator

When your solicitor does their local searches, it will flag up that the land is near a military base. I almost bought a house on land that used to be owned by the MoD. If the searches show it is a high risk, then your solicitor may recommend surveys be carried out or historic searches done to determine the exact use of the land (eg was it ever a firing range or munitions depot). If you are buying with a mortgage, the lender may make these searches compulsory, or they may refuse to lend altogether.
So it is a risk that there will be extra costs involved, and an extra risk if you have a mortgage.

max11

good point, thank you

kinger101

The ground within the artillery base is very likely contaminated by explosives, which are toxic. This will very likely show up in the environmental searches. Not likely to be a problem if you have mains water, but if you source groundwater (e.g., borehole, well) then it could be a major problem.

max11

Thank you. The base is in the city center, so normal water supply

Silvertabby

davidmcn wrote: »

"artillery" is probably a red herring for a city centre barracks - I presume they do the bangy stuff elsewhere?

As for value, I would have thought it's long been there and any effect has already been factored into local prices?

I'd be more put off by the thought of drunken squaddies in the local pubs.

You'd have thought so - but there are people who buy houses near RAF bases because the houses are cheap(er) because of the noise, and then complain when they come to sell because their house is worth less than similar properties 5 miles away.

davidmcn

stator wrote: »

When your solicitor does their local searches, it will flag up that the land is near a military base. I almost bought a house on land that used to be owned by the MoD. If the searches show it is a high risk, then your solicitor may recommend surveys be carried out or historic searches done to determine the exact use of the land (eg was it ever a firing range or munitions depot). If you are buying with a mortgage, the lender may make these searches compulsory, or they may refuse to lend altogether.
So it is a risk that there will be extra costs involved, and an extra risk if you have a mortgage.

Only if you bother getting an environmental search. Besides, if it's a current barracks then its presence will be obvious because it'll be on maps! And if valuers thought it relevant then they'll mention it in their reports.