Newspaper Article

Being blighted by Stansted has earned us Pounds 500,000

Anstead, Mark

2010

Overview

'Considering Lehman's collapse in 2008, I'm glad I got out when I did,' says [Andy]. 'But over the past six years, I have had plenty to worry about with our home. When we moved here we thought we were far enough away from the airport not to be affected by noise.' After verifying in 2007 that their property fell inside BAA's adjusted noise boundary, the first step was to have two local estate agents assess their home's value estimated for 2002. If the difference between valuations was less than ten per cent, a mid-point would be agreed with BAA, but due to the uniqueness of their home, a third valuation was needed. The final figure, Pounds 1.4 million, was then pegged to an index tracking price rises in detached Essex homes since 2002 and the couple had to market the house for a year, changing the asking price each quarter to match the index. 'It was as if the light went off in that area for two years and nobody would touch properties in Takeley, for example,' he says. 'Today, homes in that village are worth at least 15 per cent less than they would have been, even after the recession is factored in.' BAA's Debbie Fazan says the company has bought 130 properties under the noise blight scheme for about Pounds 50million. 'We are letting them until the market recovers,' she says.

• Publisher: Solo Syndication, a division of Associated Newspapers Ltd
• Subject: Hood, Sam