Baildon residents demand builder puts right problems with new homes (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Baildon residents demand builder puts right problems with new homes

7:00am Saturday 2nd March 2013 in News By Julie Tickner, T&A Reporter

Lucy Crowther, Gill Bryan and Lynn Aspin outside their homes

Residents at a new-build housing complex in Baildon have joined forces to send a damning dossier of complaints to the developer.

Their frustratration includes problems such as sewage seeping into a garden, a leaking roof and poorly-fitted windows.

One couple living at David Wilson Home’s Heritage View site have become so frustrated by contacting the company that they sent 50 letters to neighbours with a form for them to detail any problems they were trying to get resolved.

Gillian Bryan, 49, a lunchtime supervisor, said they had nine responses, one person had 130 complaints and others had been wrangling with the developer since last summer.

She said some people part-own homes on the estate and had been told to deal with their housing association and others had decided to pay for work themselves.

She sent a letter and copies of the forms recorded delivery to David Wilson Homes in January. The worst complaint came from a resident who had sewage leaking into her garden.

The firm said it would look in to the concerns. Other residents received letters saying the company was sorry they felt they had to complain en masse.

In a statement to the Telegraph & Argus, David Wilson Homes said it “prides itself on its excellent level of customer service” and was working as as “quickly and efficiently” as possible to resolve the issues.

Mrs Bryan moved into her five-bedroom home, in Honey Pot Drive, in September. She said dealing with problems was “extremely time-consuming”.

In December she noticed a problem with her laminate kitchen flooring. Mrs Bryan has since had more conflicting advice about the floor, which has yet to be lifted up so the fault can be investigated.

Among the Bryan family’s other complaints are the state of Velux windows in the master bedroom Husband Matt Bryan, 44, said people expected more for the money they had paid. Homes are marketed between £368,995 and £511,995.

Neighbour Lynn Aspin, 42, has lived on Honey Pot Drive since October. On New Year’s Eve she discovered a leak in her roof.

“It wasn’t just a little leak, it was pretty major,” she said. “We rang the 24- hour emergency line and they said they’d call back and said they’d send someone the next day. They said they would come out, but not immediately and gave no advice.” The fault was later fixed, but Miss Aspin, a medical dosimetrist, was not told what caused it.

Wayne Sutton, contracts manager at David Wilson Yorkshire West, said: “We pride ourselves on our excellent level of customer service and for the third year running, have achieved a five star rating from the HBF to reflect the company’s hard work.

“Each of the homes at Heritage View has been built to the highest specification and all come complete with a five year guarantee on all fixtures and fittings. We regularly assess feedback and are extremely proud that more than 96 per cent of our division’s customers would recommend us to their family and friends. Whilst we are unable to comment on individual cases, I can confirm that our customer care team is working closely with our construction team to solve any problems.”