Part 1 of the Land Compensation (Scotland) Act 1973 is outlined and the current compensation procedures are described. The concepts underlying the economist's understanding of the property market are explained. The analytical approaches that can be used by researchers to investigate the impact of changes in environmental amenities on prices and values are outlined and details are given of the hedonic price technique. Empirical applications of the hedonic price technique are reported (validation of noise, vibration pollution and air pollution) and the results from the hedonic pricing study used to calculate the impact of road noise on property prices are presented. Ways in which the current compensation procedures can be altered are described.
Abstract