Residents at a new-build development have launched a petition over a long list of issues, including a sewage smell that is making children feel sick. Kent Online reports that construction continues at the Conningbrook Lakes scheme on the former quarry site in Ashford, which will see 300 new homes next to the popular lakes off Willesborough Road once completed. People have started to move into their new homes, while construction continues on many of the new-builds, and have begun finding issues, with one resident saying the problems started just a week after picking up the keys at the end of September.
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The resident, a first-time buyer, said that the front door started not shutting or locking properly, and gaps at the top of the door clearly let daylight through. The lack of security in the £329,999 house has led her to develop sleeping problems and has been put on anxiety medication.
To compound the issue further, attempts to correct the issue by property managers led her to be locked out of her house in the rain with her young children. She said then when she was shown around the property, she was told there was a leak under the sink, which would be fixed before she moved in.
However, the problem was not fixed and led to walls developing mould, and water leaking from under kickboards.
She says that a Clarion employee advised her to turn off the water at the mains and that it would be fixed within 10 days. The mould issue was rectified, but it became apparent that other areas in the property now have mould, which is now affecting her youngest child, who suffers from asthma.
Property managers Clarion have acknowledged the issue, but have yet to fix any of them.
Residents have also reported long-term drainage issues, and one homeowner said: “We reported in about October a sewage smell internally, and when I say a smell it wasn’t slight it was horrific.
“We waited until March for them to do something, but that didn’t rectify it and got worse.”
They added that the smell was constant, and led children ‘gagging while eating their food’.
A Facebook group for angry residents has now been set up, and a petition has been launched, saying that the development is ‘beautiful, but the quality of properties is shocking’.
“There have been building regulations breaches regarding lighting and mobility access, breaking of planning permission, and lack of disabled access to many properties, rendering wheelchair users stranded in their own homes,” the petition reads.
It continued to say that residents have been ignored by the directors of the developers, and added other faults, including ill-fitting doors, faulty electrics, damp issues, and holes in internal floors.
A spokeswoman for Latimer Homes and Chartway Group insisted that the company is communicating with residents, and working through the problems.
“There is a programme of works in progress and homeowners are being updated with appointments as they are booked in,” she said.
“We will continue to work closely until all issues have been resolved. We apologise for any unintended inconvenience this may present.”
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