Homeowners furious with developer over potholes and 'messy' landscaping on new build estate

Homeowners have expressed their anger at a housing developer after the roads on their new build estate were left full of potholes.

Crystal and Tom Fletcher bought their £250,000 home on the St Nicholas Manor development in the town of Cramlington, Northumberland, three years ago, but say the roads around it are covered in "craters".

They say housing developer Persimmon have left the site with potholes, lumps of tarmac, unfinished paths and poor landscaping.

The couple, who have eight-year-old and a 10-month-old boys, say they have faced issues since they first moved into the property, including inside the house, and accused Permission of failing to address them.

The company said contractors are due to visit the site this week to start surfacing roads and pavements.

"The roads are unfinished, the paths aren't finished, the landscaping, if you look along the main road it is just an absolute mess," said Mrs Fletcher.

"They dug up our private road a year ago and still haven't put it back. If I email them about it, they just say they don't have a contractor, they don't know how long it will be until we get someone.

"Everyone is fed up, the whole estate is just done. People have lived here for more than five years and you only need to come to the estate to see."

She said her eldest son had fallen off his scooter on the road outside their house because it was in such a poor condition.

"The roads are so bad, full of potholes, lumps of tarmac, some of the roads there are proper craters in the roads," she said.

The family's issues with their new home began as soon as they moved in.

"Right from the very start with snags, I've lived here for three years and still have work that hasn't been finished," added Mrs Fletcher.

"It's just hanging over us, it is an added stress, trying to chase them to get things done. We have still got our shower in the en suite that is rusty. It went rusty within two years and I reported it in June last year and they have said now they'll fix it after saying the shower needs to be washed and dried after every use.

"It is just ridiculous. I don't know what shower isn't waterproof. They have said they will replace it but I still don't have an appointment. It is a different excuse every time."

She added: "When we moved in we had cracked tiles, one of the lights on the front was broken, after a year they still hadn't fixed it. In the end we bought replacement lights and sent them the bill. They don't care about fixing anything.

'This is why we bought a new house'

"They told us the tiles cracked by themselves. The whole thing has been a joke right from the start.

"We paid all this money so we had a finished house. If we wanted a house with broken tiles we would've bought one with broken tiles. We didn't want to do the work which is why we bought a new house."

A spokesperson for Persimmon North East said work on the development, done alongside another company, Bellway, had been "progressing over recent months".

They said "contractors will commence surfacing of roads and pavements" this week.

They added: “A site wide review is also currently being undertaken which includes identifying remaining remedial works to be completed. Adoption of the development by the council will take place following completion of these works.”

Persimmon said it doesn't comment on issues with individual houses.

A spokesperson for Bellway said the delays in completing the roads and footpaths were due to service providers, but that works will commence this week.

What to do if builders won't fix snagging issues in your home

According to the HomeOwners Alliance (HOA), developers and warranty providers will often rush through their own inspections in order to sign off new build properties as complete, meaning snagging issues can be missed or ignored.

The Professional Snagging Company advises buyers to draw up a comprehensive snagging list before they move in, covering everything from paint on window panes to uneven brick work.

It advised homeowners not to fill in the House Builder Federation (HBF) survey provided by developers until all snags have been sorted.

Buyers should keep a record of every interaction they have with the developer, as well as photos of before and after work.

The Professional Snagging Company says homeowners should not be tempted to fix the snags themselves, as the developer could later claim they caused the issue by doing so.

If a developer still refuses to act on a snagging list, homeowners can turn to their warranty that protects all new build houses in the UK.

About four out of five new build homes are covered by the National House Building Council (NHBC) Buildmark warranty, which extends to snags.

If the problems are not resolved by the builder within the first two years of the home's completion, the NHBC can help with settling the dispute.

Recommended reading

• Developer gives fresh update on 'abandoned' housing estate (Northampton Chronicle)

• Developer must pay almost £1m to fund extra school places if new homes plan approved (Wakefield Express)

• Protest over hedgerow removal for new housing development (Darlington and Stockton Times)