Buying a property close to rail lines - anything to watch out for/clarify?

maxxpayne

Albermarle said:

I have a commuter ( and occasionally freight) line at the end of the garden. I do not remember it being mentioned in any of the paperwork when buying the house ( although it was a long time ago) or any restrictions/covenants.
I think though Network Rail have some statutory powers in case you have a massive tree causing problems, or something like that.
Noise wise, it still can be an issue if you are in the garden, but a minor one. 

How far is the line in your case? Ours would be 35-40 feet from the garden boundary and 110 feet from the house. Attached a photo. 

maxxpayne

youth_leader said:

When my husband died I had to sell my listed grade II railway station, on the live East Coast Main Line.  We lived there for twenty odd years and you get used to the trains very quickly, and miss them when they stop running in snow etc.

We were fully fenced, but only had the platform width of about five foot and the earth grass covered bank between us and the railway tracks.

I'm not sure how near your property is to the line, but the new station owner has been telling people he has been quoted £30K to stop the trains for a period so that scaffolding can be put up lineside and roofing works commenced lineside.

Sounds like your place was a lot closer than ours? 

maxxpayne

user1977 said:

I can't see the railway being relevant to the covenants. If you're not even neighbouring the line, Network Rail (if they even have title to enforce the covenants) aren't going to care what you do.

Sorry should’ve posted this earlier. Gives a sense of distance. Garden fence is around 35-40 feet away from the rail lines 

user1977

maxxpayne said:

user1977 said:

I can't see the railway being relevant to the covenants. If you're not even neighbouring the line, Network Rail (if they even have title to enforce the covenants) aren't going to care what you do.

Sorry should’ve posted this earlier. Gives a sense of distance. Garden fence is around 35-40 feet away from the rail lines 

Ah right, you are neighbouring the line then. Still, they're only going to be bothered about you doing something which affects their land in some way, they're not going to complain about you painting your front door the wrong colour.

Section62

maxxpayne said:

user1977 said:

I can't see the railway being relevant to the covenants. If you're not even neighbouring the line, Network Rail (if they even have title to enforce the covenants) aren't going to care what you do.

Sorry should’ve posted this earlier. Gives a sense of distance. Garden fence is around 35-40 feet away from the rail lines 

I think I know the road - if so, the probable issue isn't so much the distance from the house to the tracks, but more likely the fact the line is at a higher level than the street so you'll be relying on the trees (on TfL land) to act as a sound barrier.  Rail operators from time to time decide they need to adopt a scorched earth approach where trees are considered too close to the railway (leaves on the line) and there's not much the nearby residents can do about it.

Being a tube line it isn't used for freight, which is one of the more disturbing types of train, so you will probably get used to the noise quite quickly.

When lines like this were being extened in the 1930's the LPTB purchased not just the land they needed for the line, but also whole farms/estates which they then developed or sold on to developers.  The covenants look very much like the type that go with this kind of land - LPTB had very firm ideas of the kind of people they wanted living in the area, with a view in particular to them using their transport services.  It is unlikely they will do much enforcement, but it couldn't be ruled out if they took issue with a structure (or similar) you built in the garden that risked falling or being blown onto the railway operational land.

If it hasn't gone already (and assuming you don't need it) you might want to find out from the council whether they would be willing to get rid of the disabled parking bay, and worth checking their criteria for a dropped kerb as the front garden looks borderline for being able to get an off-street parking area, other than the existing (presumably) shared drive.

maxxpayne

Section62 

I think I know the road - if so, the probable issue isn't so much the distance from the house to the tracks, but more likely the fact the line is at a higher level than the street so you'll be relying on the trees (on TfL land) to act as a sound barrier.  Rail operators from time to time decide they need to adopt a scorched earth approach where trees are considered too close to the railway (leaves on the line) and there's not much the nearby residents can do about. 

Very impressed with your map sleuthing skills!

So the house is next to the arrow so thankfully kerb is dropped. 

LPTB had very firm ideas of the kind of people they wanted living in the area, with a view in particular to them using their transport services.

Dare I ask what kind of people? Just historical curiosity. 

but it couldn't be ruled out if they took issue with a structure (or similar) you built in the garden that risked falling or being blown onto the railway operational land.

Really it could be a tree house or one of those prefabricated offices?

Section62

maxxpayne said:

Section62 

I think I know the road - if so, the probable issue isn't so much the distance from the house to the tracks, but more likely the fact the line is at a higher level than the street so you'll be relying on the trees (on TfL land) to act as a sound barrier.  Rail operators from time to time decide they need to adopt a scorched earth approach where trees are considered too close to the railway (leaves on the line) and there's not much the nearby residents can do about. 

Very impressed with your map sleuthing skills!

So the house is next to the arrow so thankfully kerb is dropped.

The kerb is dropped for the original shared access, but some councils don't like people using the shared access dropped kerb for parking in the front garden where the entry/exit manouvre (and parking) has to be at 45 degrees to the footway.  The way the neighbours are parking at 45 degrees isn't allowed in some cases, depending on the council involved.

As this is London, the council has lawful powers to carry out work to physically stop vehicles being driven on and off a driveway - which at a legal stretch could be used to stop this 45 degree parking. If they wanted to.

It also looks like there is a level difference between the front garden and the footway, so even if the dropped kerb isn't an issue you may have problems constructing an area you can park on which complies with the council's requirements.

It may not be a problem for you, but it would be sensible to check out the council's policy to make sure you'd be able to park - especially if you have (or plan to get) an electric vehicle.  The alternative would be checking whether the garage(?) area at the rear would give you a large enough space to park and charge an EV.

maxxpayne said:

LPTB had very firm ideas of the kind of people they wanted living in the area, with a view in particular to them using their transport services.

Dare I ask what kind of people? Just historical curiosity.

Professionals.... the type who would be likely to make use of the tube service to get to work (or meet clients) in Central London.  This is one of the reasons why the covenants exclude certain professions from the 'no business from home' rules.  As well as the bus services (also run by LPTB), several stations in the area were provided with generous (for the time) sized car parks so those with a car could commute by tube more conveniently.

maxxpayne said:

but it couldn't be ruled out if they took issue with a structure (or similar) you built in the garden that risked falling or being blown onto the railway operational land.

Really it could be a tree house or one of those prefabricated offices?

Those are the kind of things potentially that London Underground could take issue with.  I'm not saying they will, and in your case being lower than the railway probably makes problems less likely, but if someone put up a flimsy shed near the top of an embankment which looked like one gust of wind would blow it down onto the tracks then the covenants might come into play.

incus432

The only 'anything else' to mention is possible night-time goods trains, I lived for a few years close to a railway line and wasnt bothered by noise (the motorway class road alongside was much more bothersome) except sometimes between 2 and 4 am a very heavy goods train would go through which would wake me up and literally shake the house. 

maxxpayne

Section62 said:

maxxpayne said:

Section62 

I think I know the road - if so, the probable issue isn't so much the distance from the house to the tracks, but more likely the fact the line is at a higher level than the street so you'll be relying on the trees (on TfL land) to act as a sound barrier.  Rail operators from time to time decide they need to adopt a scorched earth approach where trees are considered too close to the railway (leaves on the line) and there's not much the nearby residents can do about. 

Very impressed with your map sleuthing skills!

So the house is next to the arrow so thankfully kerb is dropped.

The kerb is dropped for the original shared access, but some councils don't like people using the shared access dropped kerb for parking in the front garden where the entry/exit manouvre (and parking) has to be at 45 degrees to the footway.  The way the neighbours are parking at 45 degrees isn't allowed in some cases, depending on the council involved.

As this is London, the council has lawful powers to carry out work to physically stop vehicles being driven on and off a driveway - which at a legal stretch could be used to stop this 45 degree parking. If they wanted to.

It also looks like there is a level difference between the front garden and the footway, so even if the dropped kerb isn't an issue you may have problems constructing an area you can park on which complies with the council's requirements.

It may not be a problem for you, but it would be sensible to check out the council's policy to make sure you'd be able to park - especially if you have (or plan to get) an electric vehicle.  The alternative would be checking whether the garage(?) area at the rear would give you a large enough space to park and charge an EV.

maxxpayne said:

LPTB had very firm ideas of the kind of people they wanted living in the area, with a view in particular to them using their transport services.

Dare I ask what kind of people? Just historical curiosity.

Professionals.... the type who would be likely to make use of the tube service to get to work (or meet clients) in Central London.  This is one of the reasons why the covenants exclude certain professions from the 'no business from home' rules.  As well as the bus services (also run by LPTB), several stations in the area were provided with generous (for the time) sized car parks so those with a car could commute by tube more conveniently.

maxxpayne said:

but it couldn't be ruled out if they took issue with a structure (or similar) you built in the garden that risked falling or being blown onto the railway operational land.

Really it could be a tree house or one of those prefabricated offices?

Those are the kind of things potentially that London Underground could take issue with.  I'm not saying they will, and in your case being lower than the railway probably makes problems less likely, but if someone put up a flimsy shed near the top of an embankment which looked like one gust of wind would blow it down onto the tracks then the covenants might come into play.

I understand it now. Looking at street view every house seems to have done the 45 degree parking so Barnet council probably is lenient on this. Plus we’ll probably have two cars max to care about so not worrying too much. 

Interesting tidbit on the professional angle. Everyday is a school day. Thanks for this. 

maxxpayne

incus432 said:

The only 'anything else' to mention is possible night-time goods trains, I lived for a few years close to a railway line and wasnt bothered by noise (the motorway class road alongside was much more bothersome) except sometimes between 2 and 4 am a very heavy goods train would go through which would wake me up and literally shake the house. 

It’s a tube line (Piccadilly to be precise) so hopefully it won’t be a challenge. What I plan to do is stake out on the street in the morning and night unless I find an AirBnB on the street to get a hang of the noise. 

I suspect asking the seller or the agent will only get me a generic “not an issue” type answer.