The AGE; Comments, April 8th, 2015.
Developers stealing amenity
If I buy an established house, the value I pay reflects not just the property itself but the local infrastructure and street amenity. If a developer then buys the house next door and builds six apartments, this effectively steals some of the value of my property. Now I cannot relax in my garden without being overlooked, the sun does not reach me due to overshadowing and I have to fight to get a parking spot. The developer, meanwhile, has taken value from my property, diced it and sold it. A fair system would have the developer compensate – by means of an independent valuer process – those who lose amenity value. This would make developers (and renovators) think more carefully about appropriate development.
Mark Weatherseed, Kew