People living on a new estate say they are fed up with ongoing issues with their homes as well as rats and flooded gardens. Street lights are reportedly not working, there are 'huge potholes' on roads and there have also been alleged heating issues.
One resident said nothing in their house was straight and bricks weren't level. They said: "It’s like a monkey built them and they paid them in peanuts, you can add that in."
As reported by Derbyshire Live and Staffordshire Live, those living on Avant Homes’ Cadley Village estate in Swadlincote, south Derbyshire, claim they have been left hanging over the problems due to a high turnover of customer care managers. In a statement, Avant Homes said it is conducting a review with its groundworks sub-contractor and is planning remedial work on roads and footpaths.
Nicki Mason, 32, an HR manager, has lived there since October 2021. “It’s the lack of contact with them," she said.
"When we first moved in it wasn’t too bad but then their customer care manager left and we were left with a hole in our sink for six months before it was fixed. There was no room for a dishwasher and trying to wash up with a hole in the sink was ridiculous."
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She also says street lights on her street are not working. And she fears someone will get hurt due to “huge potholes” in the road.
“Also, none of the doors shut and one side of the estate is full of rats, they get into people’s gardens," she added. "It’s horrendous, someone’s had pest control out three times but you can’t get rid of them, can you?
"The drains on our road are also so far up, I think it’s a genuine health and safety hazard. They came out today to tarmac around them, but that’s taken me going crazy at them to do that.”
Sophie Mason, 29, a teaching assistant, said: “My upstairs heating is doing the downstairs and the downstairs is doing the upstairs. My washing machine also smells and the bloke who came to have a look said the drains were only a foot and a half from concrete level so only half of the water is coming down the pipe. Then we had little midget flies because of damp under the washing machine.”
And Sylvia Czajkowska, 39, a warehouse worker who moved in in May 2021 said: “All three of our bathrooms have leaks everywhere. All the boards should be replaced because it’s mouldy, and our family bathroom has been out of use for four to five months now.
"Honestly it’s horrible, the bathroom in my bedroom is leaking now and we have three kids. Soon we won’t be able to have a shower or bath.”
Another resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “We’ve had to put towels under our front door because water is piddling through. And our grass is dead because it’s a swamp and needs draining. We had to have all our garden ripped out.”
A different person, who also did not want to be named, said: “I’ve been here for three years since October 29, 2020, and there was a huge chunk out of the brick at the front. It’s still not been done.
“If they did things right in the first place it would save them money. What I’d suggest is that in the future people pay half the price of their house and don’t pay the other half until all is good.”
Another homeowner said: “My garden is like a swamp. I didn’t notice it until October and we moved in August.
"The back wall is disgusting, there’s white stuff, cream stuff all over it. It’s all going into my garden and we’ve got hardly any grass.”
An Avant Homes spokesperson said: “We are conducting a full review of the development with our groundworks sub-contractor to rectify any unprotected ironworks as a matter of urgency. At the same time, we will identify any required maintenance on the streetlighting.
“Remedial work on the roads and footpaths will also be undertaken in advance of the final surfacing on occupied areas of the development. We have made contact with Mrs Mason to address and resolve the items she has raised regarding her home at Cadley Village.”
