LOCALS who shelled out £580,000 on “luxurious” Taylor Wimpey newbuilds say their walls are cracking and they’ve been locked out of their park.
The homeowners splashed out on brand-new houses in the plush Morley Carr estate in Yarm, North Yorks.
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But they now have revealed their misery at having to battle building giant Taylor Wimpey over their fault-riddled homes.
The 350-home estate was billed as offering “luxurious” two to five-bed homes in the Tees Valley.
Yet four years on from the first residents moving in, contractors are still grappling to fix snags – ranging from banging radiators to roofs that need replacing.
And the children’s play area and bowling green are still to open – despite residents expecting to be using them years ago.
The construction giant has now apologised to residents for the issues with their homes – and closed off recreational spots.
Resident Steve Nealon, 67, who bought a detached home with wife Jan, said he had built up a list of issues.
The homeowner told The Sun: “We’ve had problems of various types.
“We’re on our fourth front door in two years and we’re still waiting for them to finish it.
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“We’ve complained so many times. You have to be right on top of your game to get things done, otherwise it just won’t happen.”
The kids’ play area on the estate still remains locked up – as does a nearby bowling green – with the adjoining waste bin filled with bags of dog faeces.
The delay in opening it is reportedly down to a stand-off between Taylor Wimpey and the local council over who is responsible for maintenance.
Steve, who heads up the estate’s neighbourhood watch, said: “I feel sorry for the kids because they don’t have anywhere to play.
“Parents have to take their kids off the estate to use other play areas on other estates.
“But they’re even worse than this one.”
Alicia Todd lives in a newbuild home overlooking the park with her children, six and 10.
‘RIDICULOUS’
Alicia, 28, said: “We’ve lived here for four years and the kids have never been able to use the play area. It’s just a joke, really.
“The older kids climb over the railings but I don’t want mine to do that.
“It’s just so annoying having a play area right in front of our house that’s out of bounds.
“It’s gone on for so long now and it needs sorting. It’s ridiculous.”
Anthony McHale, 44, bought his Taylor Wimpey home on the estate for £370,000 only to discover his semi was bedevilled with snagging issues.
The 44-year-old said: “They are lovely houses but the amount of problems is just unreal.
“This house has had creaking floors, we’ve had cracked ceilings done numerous times.
“We’ve had doors that weren’t fitted properly, banging pipes, broken radiators. Almost every wall has had to come out – it’s all been patched and painted.”
‘RIDDLED WITH PROBLEMS’
Anothony added: “I started with a list of faults that ran over four sheets of A4 – and now I’m down to the last three or four jobs.
“If I was self-employed I’d probably have gone bust because I’d have no time to work. I’m just waiting in for contractors all the time.”
Another homeowner, who bought her detached five-bed house for £550,000, told how the wider estate was riddled with problems including broken kerbs, flooded paths and dead trees.
She said: “We’ve worked really hard to be able to afford a place like this and it’s just so disheartening that there are so many problems.
“There are people who’ve had to have their roofs taken off, or their insulation redone.
“The place is just riddled with problems and it’s meant to be a luxury estate.”
Taylor Wimpey told The Sun: “We are sorry that the new facilities at our Morley Carr Farm development are not yet open for use, and that some residents have experienced problems with their homes.
“The play area and bowling green are complete, and we are finalising the handover agreements to the development management company and Yarm Town Council respectively.
“We would like to reassure residents that we are working with the relevant stakeholders to ensure that this happens as quickly as possible.
“We are working with any customers who have reported problems with their home within the warranty period to resolve the issues as soon as we are able.”
What are your rights in this case?
All new build homes come with some form of warranty.
Most often, this is a builder warranty of around 10 years, against structural issues, and a shorter developer warranty against issues with fixtures and fittings.
Registered builders are bound by a Consumer Code, which sets out quality standards.
If the house is not complete at the time it was promised, the customer can cancel the purchase, with a full refund of any deposit or reservation fee.
Complaints can be resolved privately with builders/developers in the first instance.
However, if you are not satisfied, there is an independent dispute scheme that can be used within the first three months of receiving the final response to the complaint from the builders.
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