A guide to living in East of England

Please tell us about the good and bad aspects of living in your local area:

I absolutely love living at St Luke’s. It’s such a beautiful place and very clean and tidy. All neighbours are lovely and respectful. No negatives living here :)

How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:

Building management dealt with an issue I had very quickly. Issue was resolved and clear communication of timelines.

Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:

Only slight issue living here is the mobile reception in the area. I know this has been raised by the local councillor but is a pain when anyone new comes to the estate or you have a delivery.

Please tell us about the good and bad aspects of living in your local area:

I have had the best experience living here for the past 22 months. Special shout out to Jess MacGregor who has been an absolute delight to coordinate with in regards to any support that I required. The entire moving in and moving out process was smooth and seamless.

How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:

Yes the building management has been extremely responsive and efficient in dealing with any problems and have been quick in responses. This was endearing considering I am not a UK citizen snd needed to be educated about a lot of aspects of living here.

Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:

I wish I had known that my mobile service was going to give me issues with basic phone connectivity. Initially I did think this was an issue with my mobile provider but cabbies used to complain about poor service network too.

Please tell us about the good and bad aspects of living in your local area:

The development is overrunning massively, so no local facilities are open bar a Sainsbury's, who's main contribution to the are seems to be a faulty burglar alarm. When I moved in in 2022 the estate agents told me the site would be completed within a year, but as usual with estate agents it turned out to be a lie and we're still wait now (2026). Bin collection is sporadic at best because the ongoing construction work blocks access for the bin men, and the management company somehow were incapable of foreseeing this and so only acted after the fact (and after many complaints). The development backs onto a main road, so traffic noise during the day is substantial, however, as I was never offered the possibility to use the car park, many of the spaces having been sold to the co-working space across the road, and since the development is not in any of the council's parking zones, I cannot contribute to the traffic myself since it effectively bans me from having a vehicle. Antisocial behaviour is rife, since the continued existence of the building site and poor quality of the fob-controlled locks on site means plenty of scope for e.g. drug dealing exists where it cannot be seen from the street. The incentives of free bus passes and bike discounts that were hawked at me during the sale have never materialised.

Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:

I was given a spreadsheet showing the service charge breakdown costs, but they should have shown the projected increases, because at 41% per year, I may have baulked and not committed. Properly explaining that the heat network was neither cheaper nor more efficient, and run by an unregulated cartel of companies with opaque pricing would also have put me off, as would the estate agents being honest about the timescale for the completion of the development. The total lack of any parking would also have been good to have highlighted, and the estate agent should have shown me the correct flat (or at least one with the same layout) so that I could see how poorly laid out it was.

What is the best feature of your home:

It's reasonably well insulated, now that the windows have been installed properly.

Please tell us about the good and bad aspects of living in your local area:

There is a range of shops , restaurants and bars in Stevenage . Not to mention we have a Tesco right around the corner . I was stunned at how I could go for dessert or even dinner or just go to the cinema if I wanted and all within a reasonable walking distances .

How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:

Yes they have , usually within a couple days maintenance will come and sort out any issues

Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:

They were prettt transparent about the parking situation to be fair . So with one beds you don’t get a. Parking space but with the two beds you get one parking space and that comes with a charge of £125 per month which is pretty steep .

Please tell us about the good and bad aspects of living in your local area:

A really beautiful development with adequate green spaces and impressive rear gardens. Beautiful restaurant within walking distance and Tesco store, Frinton on sea about two mins by car with adequate shops, post office etc. Finches is so quiet, when you sit outside you can only hear a pin drop and neighbours all seem so friendly and respectful which is lovely.

Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:

By taking animals which are part of any family is brilliant and the gardens are a wonderful size with adequate walking areas close by

What is the best feature of your home:

Beautiful looking bungalow with the front porch like it is, beautiful large garden, easy to keep clean flooring and felt like a home the day we moved in! Nice that it’s fitted with good quality white goods too.