Wind turbines on your property

Do wind farms affect house prices?

There are currently some 80 wind energy projects operating throughout the UK, and survey evidence to date does not reveal a negative trend in property values amongst properties in proximity to wind farms. According to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, there are no studies that suggest an effect either way, but at Nympsfield in Gloucestershire, house prices continued to gain after plans for the turbine were announced in 1992 and have continued to increase since the turbine began operating in 1997.

This pattern is repeated at the 70 plus operating wind farms in England, Wales and Scotland, where any evidence available demonstrates that wind farms have no material effect on house prices; surveys in areas near to a wind project show 78% of respondents reporting no difference in house prices, with some even reporting an increase

National Wind Power (NWP) own and operate Taff Ely Wind Farm which comprises 20 turbines (each rated at 450 kilowatts) and is located in South Wales, to the west of Pontypridd. A new housing development is being built there within a few hundred metres of the wind farm, and with clear views over open fields towards the wind farm.

Wilcon Homes, currently developing in the area, have no reservations about the effect of the presence of the turbines on the hundreds of new houses planned for the locality. According to David Swithenbank, the Sales Manager for the development “The windmills have not affected people wanting to buy homes; they are selling very well and no purchasers have expressed a problem with the turbines.”

NWP recently commissioned two public opinion surveys which were conducted by Robertson Bell Associates (RBA). RBA carried out the design of the questionnaire, all fieldwork and data processing and were chosen because of their excellent credentials. They are an independent market research agency and a member of the Association of British Market Research Companies (ABMRC). The surveys were carried out in accordance with the ABMRC Code of Professional Practice. One of the questions asked in the surveys was about house prices. The results follow:

Taff Ely Wind Farm, South Wales. 70% of respondents say they are able to see the wind farm from their home. “In regards to house prices, more than three in four (78%) say the wind farm has had no effect, with a further 15% saying ‘don’t know’. As many residents say house prices have increased a little because of the wind farm (3%) as say they have decreased a little (3%), similarly, as many say they have increased a lot (1%) as say decreased a lot (1%).”

Novar Wind Farm, Scotland. “In regards to house prices, almost three in four (72%) say the wind farm has had no effect, with a further 26% saying ‘don’t know’. None of the respondents say house prices have decreased as a result of the wind farm. Indeed, 1% say house prices have increased a little because of the wind farm”.

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