About Clarion Housing

Interior seems well made and there is little sound bleed between flats. The facilities in the flat are good, only bug bear might be that it would’ve been good to get a fan oven rather than a basic one and that the flats do not include dishwashers despite the initial marketing plans implying that they would.

Most flats have had some minor snags and issues but generally I have found them to be made good in a reasonable time and the builders that developed the site, Skillcrown, have still been available and have been helpful with any niggles. In terms of property management – it is generally decent, sometimes difficult to get through to the right person at Clarion on certain issues.

Please tell us what you like and dislike about this area:

Good: location is quiet and not too close to noisy main roads. Good array of retail shops nearby and while there isn’t lots of bars, restaurants or cafes, what there is good and there is easy transport to busier spots like Wimbledon, Tooting and Balham. There are some nice nearby spots with local independent businesses growing at Merton Abbey Mills and Coffee in the Wood also.

Bad: Could do with more recycling facilities as the one recycling crate we have is shared between a number of blocks and fills up fast. There is also a problem with people dumping litter or not looking after the area around local footpaths also. Some nice green spaces locally but the area definitely would suffer if there was any less.

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

Getting the address registered / post service set up was a problem and took some team work by the new residents to sort. We didn’t get post for weeks and then it all arrived in big chunks for a while, plus many delivery companies couldn’t find the address for a while because it was a new postcode. Having that better prepared or knowing in advance would’ve been good.

If there is one thing you would change about your flat or property what would it be:

Not much, I’ve been very happy so far as it is. Some allowance for visitor parking might be nice given the majority of flats which don’t have spaces.

Having no facilities on the complex apart from an over priced co op has let the development down. To encourage more of a community vibe it would of been nice to have a gym or community/youth hub for residence only a place where people could go not to complain but to create ideas and small events for the residence on the development. Non homeowners she be included in more things not just the homeowners.

Please tell us what you like and dislike about this area:

I like my home the area however has problems with anti social behaviour which Clarion is tackling and has kept us updated with and I find this reassuring as well as having monitored CCTV.

Shops and post office are nearby, which helps especially in the current climate.

I love that transportation is on our doorstep and the tube station is not far away which makes the commute to work easy.

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

Just how high the council tax would be and as a new build my band would be according to the value of the property.

3

Facilities

5

Design

4

Location

4

Value

3

Management

There is already BT & Virgin Broadband connections, saving you stress and reducing costs of installation (although it is not free).

Please tell us what you like and dislike about this area:

The property is well maintained, use of high quality materials, courtesy window blinds, security. The Manual is a very useful guide.

Salt wasn’t spread on the ground during the snow until a few days later, a risk for Residents.

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

The Council tax is highehr than I anticipated (no fault of theirs).
There is enough dedicated parking space for each Flat but it was not properly marked, rather than side by side, it was front to back and therefore limited the spaces. However, Residents have sorted it out.

The flat itself is all very neutral and modern. It has great floor to ceiling windows and being in a south facing flat the rooms get a great amount of light during the day. They have very good sized balconies which feels like an additional room and it’s sheltered so it can be enjoyed in the cooler months too. One bug bear is that on the marketing floorpans and brochures, it had a dishwasher in it, but upon arrival, they had said it was a “luxury” item and this would have to be bought ourselves.

The residents are friendly and of similar age and our block feels like a little community which is nice.

There have been minor snags and initially these were dealt with quickly. However I’m still waiting, 5 months on from my last list and none have been dealt with and correspondence has been non existent/slow. There are lots of different departments at Clarion and my emails often get passed around lots of different people without me being cc’d in and I always need to chase to get anything done/sorted.

As we moved in during the pandemic, I wish they still offered a home demo over a video call once we had settled. There were things I found out weeks/months later by speaking with neighbours which could have been resolved earlier if I had known.

Wall insulation needs to be improved. Day to day you cannot hear your neighbours, but if they have friends over shouting does travel through the walls to other flats.

Please tell us what you like and dislike about this area:

Good: Location is great and quiet. 5 min walk to supermarkets and retail parks, close to the River Wandle and Mordon Hall Park for some nice walks and small independent shops/restaurants. Short walk to the tube with easy access to central London. Surrounding streets are quiet with no anti-social behaviour and I never hear the traffic as we are far enough from the main roads.

Bad: No visitor parking (and not allowed to get a visitor permit for the street outside either). Bin facilities are good, though wish we had another recycling bin as it tends to get full quickly. Some noise from the industrial estate behind the development, but not often.

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

I wish I knew we’d need to get our address registered before moving in. It took a month or so with a few of us trying to sort it out.

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

Initially these were dealt with very quickly and my emails were acknowledged. However, a few months in, my snagging emails have been ignored for 5 months without a response even when I followed up on numerous occasions. With 4 months until our 12 month defect period is over, I hope these get resolved in a timely manner.