THERE has been a lot of newspaper coverage lately about proposed major road schemes in the area.

Certainly these schemes may make our villages and towns more accessible but homeowners should consider the significant downside of this.

Increasingly, and particularly since increased terrorist activity, buyers are looking for a higher quality and standard of life around their home. Furthermore, they are prepared to pay for it.

One's own home is, to the majority of us, the greatest single investment we make in our lives and nowadays it is a large part of our pension planning.

The presence of busy fast roads, or proposed schemes is a blight on value.

If they are adversely affected our houses will be worth less and could create negative equity in certain situations.

It is far more difficult to sell a house with traffic noise than without. And, when a person is moving from an urban environment to the country, they are looking for peace and quiet.

Furthermore, there is little or no compensation available to redress the situation.

The detrimental impact takes a number of forms. It isn't necessarily the presence of the super highways (or talk of them) that causes the damage but the speed and weight of traffic on them and the noise it creates.

The roads themselves are an eyesore and environmentally damaging. The Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty designation carries with it an explanation that is largely destroyed by the presence of a road like the A419.

Homeowners should consider how best to protect their interests.

SAM BUTLER

Burford