Please use the form below to tell us about any issues that you have regarding the Home Farm development. Your issues are important to us so that we can help all the residents resolve the outstanding matters. Or confidentially by contacting us via email or by commenting on any posts on this forum.
Email: home@homefarmforum.co.uk
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Home Farm Forum 
April 24, 2010 at 7:26 pm
Hi
Firstly, many thanks for setting this forum up which has come as a bit of a wake up call to start resolving the Home Farm issues.
I live in Duddle Drive and think as a community in the Home Farm block we shouldn’t have to tolerate the “no adoption” policy for roads, sewers and water any longer. I therefore have posted several concerns/issues. Please let me know what further steps I should take when you need further action to be taken.
Key Issues/Concerns:
1. I’m disgusted with the state of the roads. It is completely unacceptable that the developer or the council have not seen fit to resolve this matter. The roads are deteriotating more each day and I think it must be impacting peoples ability to sell houses and therefore it will affect mine to. Infact I heard today that a mortgage was rejected recently given issues around council adoption. In addition my son is now starting to ride his bike and I’m very worried that he will have an accident given the pot holes and uneven services. I intend to make these points to the council in writing and will confirm with you when I have done so.
2. With the next phase of home farm developing, I am worried that if our sewers have not been adopted, the added pressure of new houses could increase the risk of blockages or leaks. I’m unclear who would resolve a blocked sewer for instance. I suspect it would be us! I’m not keen to find out to be honest.
3. I think it is outrageous that I am paying full council tax while this situation persists. I intend to make this point to the council aswell.
4. I am worried that when reviewing the plans for the second phase of home farm that duddle drive is the only access through. It’s not the best road to be a service road to an estate annex and I expected it to be serviced from two fronts. Is this the case? I don’t remember this being mentioned when I purchased the property.
Best Regards,
Chris.
May 2, 2010 at 8:47 am
I agree with everything Chris Mee has to say, except to note that I was relieved to hear that there will also be access from Over Road to the new development. (This was probably added, though, so the ‘new development’ roads could be adopted while ours linger in unadopted h*ll.)
I would also add that the developers committed to punching trees along the pavements on Sheepwash Way when the building was completed. This has not been done, which means the pavements are wide open for cars to park all over making it unsafe for children on scooters, trikes, small bikes.
I wish the council would step up enforcement or send out notices that parking all over the sidewalks on Sheepwash, Bullen Close, Collinwood Drive etc was unlawful if they didn’t leave enough space for double puschchairs/wheelchairs to get through. I’m terrified that a small chidl is going to get hit one of these days … especially mine! They have every right to use the pavement, yet can’t because of all the cars parked on anc completely blocking the pavements on both sides of the road!
May 12, 2010 at 8:01 pm
I sympathise with your comments, K regarding parking on the pavements. However I think you will find that nothing is being done because that form of parking was always the intention of the planners. You will note that the curbs of these roads are very smal to facilitate parking. If cars refrained from parking on pavements, but parked on the roads, the roadways would become blocked to traffic. This would cause a great hazard to access for emergency vehicles.
June 19, 2010 at 1:40 pm
The council should answer this one. I think that we should all complain to them about allowing such awful planning to be passed.
July 1, 2010 at 6:45 pm
My partner and myself were the first to move on to this development after buying a house here. As you can imagine we were very excited as this was our first home, that however was short lived!!
I cannot believe that the developers can sell houses to people, showing them how the development we look and the amineties on offer and then not deliver. The grass areas are not mantained regularly, I hear that a park area is still to be built. The roads are a disgrace, which in turn leads to the sewers not being adopted. I always thought that you should get what you pay for, and for many this just isn’t the case! I’ve also hear as has Chris, that this is affecting people selling there homes, we want to sell, but are now very concerned that we will be trapped be the current situation we all find ourselves in. Its been four years since the first homes were moved in too, and for fundamental work, such as the roads not being completed is unacceptable.
On another note, we’ve also found our home not to be up to a great standard, with our garden being of real concern. Over the last six months or so, we have had big travines opening up all over. Some of these are 5 to 6 inchs wide and up to 7 foot long and very deep. Our man hole covers are protruding up to 5 inchs out of the ground. We are so concerned that we do not like our young son playing out there as it is a hazard, he could hit himself on the man hole covers or get his foot stuck in one of these travines, and I’m sure anyone with young children will know nothing is done at less then 100mph. So this could lead to more serious injury. I was wondering if anyone else had issues like this.
I will be calling Barretts on Monday, as I have someone coming to look at this for me. I’ll also be mentioning the road, sewers and other concerns we have. Do we have any rights regarding unfinished work on our estate or is it out of our hands?
Sean
July 5, 2010 at 6:36 pm
Hi,
Please pass this on to all on the estate. I have been informed that all of the drains on the site are blocked and very close to backing up onto the road.
I have checked the manhole at the junction of Stevensons road and Duddle drive and it is near the top.
So far I have called the Barratt homes emergency number and been told as I am outside the two year limit I need to contact our management company? (anyone know anything about it?).
I am waiting a call back to let me know if someone will come out. If possible could you all check your drains and report this to whoever you can to put pressure on them to send someone out?
The Barratt emergency number is 08456016084
Good luck
Jonathan Fuller
July 8, 2010 at 8:11 pm
I feel that there are many issues now that need resolving. I for one dont really know what is going on and if anything is moving forward.
We have problems with roads, drains, areas being mantained, problems with gardens (huge travines opening up). I think it would be benificial if we were to have a residents meeting of sorts, that way we could discuss all issues and start putting pressure on as a whole and not individuals. I was thinking we could meet at the social club one evening maybe in a couple of weeks and discuss the above. I think as a whole we would have more weight. Let me know what you all think.
Sean
July 12, 2010 at 12:26 pm
I agree. Please don’t take this as a criticism as I am very grateful that people have been pro-active enough to set up a committee and forum, but it would be helpful to have a summary of committee meeting minutes, or for someone to let us know via the forum what is being/has been done, eg have press been informed, MP involved etc. I have e-mailed my developer (Persimmon) and am awaiting a reply; but a collective response would be far more useful if we could coordinate it.
July 16, 2010 at 7:27 pm
We have been in contact with our solicitors and this is their response below;
“Thank you for taking the time to discuss this matter with me this afternoon.
As discussed, whilst a retention was not sought from George Wimpey at the time of the Transfer in July 2006, a direct contractual provision was included in the Transfer obliging George Wimpey to make up the roads to an adoptable standard and to maintain them until such time as the County Council or District Council adopts them.
We are of course happy to contact George Wimpey on your behalf with a request that they adhere to their contractual responsibilities. As discussed, this would however form the basis of a separate instruction outside of the original purchase.
If you have concerns as to the way that the original purchase was conducted we are, of course, very happy to consider this and address the matter accordingly.”
I think that we need to collectively take legal action with the respective developer and need to see how many people are prepared to contribute to the costs. I was advised that the estimated costs to send a letter to Taylor Wimpey from the solicitors outlining our case would cost approx £100, if we group together this is not much per house? Is anyone interested in joing forces?
Amy
July 29, 2010 at 1:23 pm
I have a faint Sewage smell coming from the bathrooms in my house (no jokes; they are clean). I called Anglain Water who informed me to call the County council. Basically I was advised from Anglain water that the Developers only have a legal obligation to maintain the sewage for 3 years. This fact was not confirmed by the county council, when I questions I was told to seek legal advice. They told us to go back to the developer. The problem is not that great at the moment but knowing the issues we have with the local pumping stations it is only a matter of time. From the response I got today it looks like we the resident would have to come up with a solution. Very annoying!!!!! I have written to John Baldock for an answer and will post when I get it.
July 30, 2010 at 6:49 pm
Dear Ms Shortman.
I have been in contact with Deloitte today and advised them that their drains are blocked. I have also said that Taylor Wimpey will organise jetting on their behalf if they agreed to reimburse us our costs, I’m awaiting a reply.
If there is an issue with your drains over the weekend then please call Homserve at the number given to you on completion.
As you will be out of warrantee I will instruct Homserve to validate any call regarding blocked sewers on the Taylor Wimpey development over this weekend.
I hope this is of comfort to you.
Regards
John Baldock
Regional Production Director
Taylor Wimpey ( East Anglia)
Tartan House
Etna Road
Bury St Edmunds
Suffolk
IP33 1JF
01284 773800
——————————————————————————–
From: Amy Shortman [mailto:amyshortman@hotmail.com]
Sent: 30 July 2010 11:31
To: Baldock, John – TW East Anglia; Edmonds, Mark – TW East Anglia
Subject: RE: Iceni Development, Stevensons Road, Longstanton
Dear John,
Please can you provide us with a contact number should we have any problems with the drains/ sewage out of office hours.
I find it appalling that a comapny as large as yours has no policy in place to hand over projects when someone is on leave??? We have already waited 4 years, this is totally unacceptable and is yet another example of your lack of customer service.
I would also like to advise you that I am in contact with BBC’s Watchdog regarding this matter as I am sure there will be other potential customers who would like to have this information to make an informed choice.
I expect a contact number (out of office hours) by the close of business today should any issues arise over the weekend and a report from about what was found in your drain inspection.
Rgs Amy
Amy Shortman
——————————————————————————–
Subject: RE: Iceni Development, Stevensons Road, Longstanton
Date: Thu, 29 Jul 2010 16:17:46 +0100
From: John.Baldock@taylorwimpey.com
To: amyshortman@hotmail.com
Dear Ms Shortman, the person negotiating with Deloitte is currently on annual leave until the 20th August.
I know Deloitte have been in touch regarding proposals so things are moving forward in a positive light.
I have no more information a present.
I will ask for the sewers to be inspected to ensure that there is no blockage in the main run.
Regards
John Baldock
Regional Production Director
Taylor Wimpey ( East Anglia)
Tartan House
Etna Road
Bury St Edmunds
Suffolk
IP33 1JF
01284 773800
——————————————————————————–
From: Amy Shortman [mailto:amyshortman@hotmail.com]
Sent: 29 July 2010 14:15
To: Baldock, John – TW East Anglia
Subject: RE: Iceni Development, Stevensons Road, Longstanton
Dear John,
I am still waiting for an update from you in relation to the completion of our roads/ Sewage, etc. I understand that Deloitte are awaiting a proposal from you to enable them to release the funds? Please advise. I have been in contact with our solicitor who informs be that you have a legal obligation to complete our development (that is an agreement between you and I not any third parties). Therefore I ask that you respond rather than giving the usual comments that we should contact Deloitte, etc. It is over 4 years now since we purchased this house and I think that this is not a reasonable time frame!
I also have a sewage smell at our property and have been in contact with Anglian Water regarding this issue. They have put be back in contact with you. Please can you organise for someone to look into this, ASAP.
Kind rgs
Amy Shortman
——————————————————————————–
Subject: RE: Iceni Development, Stevensons Road, Longstanton
Date: Fri, 23 Jul 2010 11:08:14 +0100
From: John.Baldock@taylorwimpey.com
To: amyshortman@hotmail.com
CC: Elaine.Begent@taylorwimpey.com; Mark.Edmonds@taylorwimpey.com; Alan.Squirrell@taylorwimpey.com
Dear Ms Shortman, this will take a few weeks to resolve but our technical team are on it.
As for the drains, that was Taylor Wimpey that cleaned them out solely because we are aware of our resident’s ongoing saga with the current situation.
The gully in question you have pointed out to me would be on an area of kerbing that needs access via the general public, so we created a ramp out of temporary tarmac so this area could be traversed easier, it will have no adverse effect on the collection of surface water to the development and will be removed when the top surfacing is finally undertaken.
Regards
John Baldock
Regional Production Director
Taylor Wimpey ( East Anglia)
Tartan House
Etna Road
Bury St Edmunds
Suffolk
IP33 1JF
01284 773800
——————————————————————————–
From: Amy Shortman [mailto:amyshortman@hotmail.com]
Sent: 23 July 2010 10:30
To: Baldock, John – TW East Anglia
Cc: Begent, Elaine – TW East Anglia; Edmonds, Mark – TW East Anglia; Squirrell, Alan – TW East Anglia
Subject: RE: Iceni Development, Stevensons Road, Longstanton
Dear John,
The area I was looking at was on the corner of Sheepwash way and Stevensons Road (the second right hand turn on Stevensons road), but you do raise a very good point about all of the Marker Posts that are on your area of responsibility.
I have no idea what PDI means in relation to the insert you sent.
I hope my mail give you enough to go on to be able to provide me with an answer asap.
In addition, I have notice the drains have been cleaned recently. If this was Taylor Wimpey I am very pleased that you are committed to maintaining this development to a liveable standard. I noticed that one of the drains (just on the other side of the road to the location mentioned above) is half covered in tarmac, maybe you could look at this to ensure if we had heavy rain that this drain would not cause problems.
Finally do you have any news reagrding the completeion of our roads & paths?
Kindest Regards
Amy
Amy Shortman
——————————————————————————–
Subject: RE: Iceni Development, Stevensons Road, Longstanton
Date: Thu, 22 Jul 2010 12:00:24 +0100
From: John.Baldock@taylorwimpey.com
To: amyshortman@hotmail.com
CC: Elaine.Begent@taylorwimpey.com; Mark.Edmonds@taylorwimpey.com; Alan.Squirrell@taylorwimpey.com
Dear Ms Shortman,
I have discussed this with our technical team and they have raised the points with the utility concerned.
Please see an extract below from an email received by us from Cams Water.
Please supply us your location and the post you are looking at? Or are you concerned that there are no posts on the development at all?
As the main laying on this scheme was carried out by PDI on a self-lay basis it would be their responsibility to install the marker posts. If the post is for a valve then PDI would have to install the plate where as if the post is for a fire hydrant the fire service would install the post.
If you could let us know where the customer lives I will confirm if the post that they are looking at is a fire hydrant post or a valve post.
Regards
Craig Claydon
Network Development Technician
DDI (01223) 706050
M (07900) 270059
Email craigclaydon@cambridge-water.co.uk
Regards
John Baldock
Regional Production Director
Taylor Wimpey ( East Anglia)
Tartan House
Etna Road
Bury St Edmunds
Suffolk
IP33 1JF
01284 773800
——————————————————————————–
From: Amy Shortman [mailto:amyshortman@hotmail.com]
Sent: 16 July 2010 10:47
To: Baldock, John – TW East Anglia
Cc: Begent, Elaine – TW East Anglia; Edmonds, Mark – TW East Anglia; Squirrell, Alan – TW East Anglia
Subject: RE: Iceni Development, Stevensons Road, Longstanton
Dear John,
Do you have a response in relation to your mail dated 28th June (please see below)?
Kind rgs
Amy
September 10, 2010 at 1:40 pm
I’ve noted that Wimpey has started building new homes on the edge of St Ives. Perhaps it’s time to start picketing all the new development sites that Wimpey and Barratt have been awarded in the surrounding areas. If residents agreed to put in an hour or two every other weekend or so picketing and handing out flyers outside their new housing development offices at the sites, that might put some pressure on them to stop the bad publicity. A schedule could easily be set up if a minimum of a few dozen homeowners agreed to help.