Property prices
Broadview are wont to quote a 2007 survey by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) that in summary says "there is no discernible impact on property prices caused by proximity to wind farms" - so that's good news. Except.....
This latest survey directly contradicts an earlier survey that RICS also carried out that notes a
35-54% reduction in values. The new survey actually devotes more words to relating how in the opinion of the authors wind energy is so essential to the national fabric, which is somewhat unusual in a research document and you would be forgiven for concluding that the authors are somewhat biased. Their research methods were
equally questionable. They only surveyed two wind farms, one that didn't have property within two miles of it, and the other, which despite the fact that it showed a 50% reduction in the value of nearby property was discounted because the houses were ex-Ministry of Defence.
In other words, their "representative sample" of one was nothing like Low Spinney - every house within the three villages is
within one mile of the turbines.
The bad news is that although we will all be impoverished, and some may find their houses rendered unsaleable, this is not a valid objection in planning law. However, some good news - evidence from other wind farms suggests that in the end, the local district council have to downgrade the Council Tax bands meaning that we all pay a little less, and Harborough District Council will have a lot less revenue.
If you would like to make an objection to the proposal that carries maximum weight with the planners, then use our
Object page to do this easily.