About Crest Nicholson

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

This area is very close to Sainsburys, and other local shops plus gym. Very handy for Abbeywood retail park. Electric vehicle charge points found at both sites. Parkway rail station a short but pleasant walk. All the surrounding fields that we use to enjoy in the summer are now being developed so less green areas than when we moved in here six years ago.

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

Cheap smoke alarms used, constantly getting the back up battery going flat. We had ours changed out after four years for better quality units. The electrician at the time found wires hanging out of the top floor smoke alarm, probably the cause of issues with the old units.
Poorly erected garden fences, one post not even fully sunk into the ground. The result was we had to replace fencing at our cost as Crest Nicholson would not cover in the first two years guarantee. Not had a problem with fencing since done by us.

What is the best feature of your home:

Energy efficiency, excellent triple glazed windows and very well sealed with no draughts. Boiler is huge and also very efficient.

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

Waterside location, located very close to Woolston high street which has all you need in the way of shops! And it’s close to Lidl. Good transport links into the city centre. It’s close to Weston shore which is a nice area for walking.

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

I wish I had known that it would be noisy like it is from my apartment.

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

Oakgrove is a lovely place to live. The local Waitrose and other shops are quite friendly to visit although there isn’t a restaurant where you can buy food if you didn’t want to cook. Despite that, we are in close vicinity of Monkston Park that does have these. There are quite a few parking bays on each road to accommodate visitors and red ways for pedestrians to walk to avoid vehicles. There isn’t really much antisocial behaviour although some people tend to nit pick at children being children on the community page. Despite this, it’s a nice place to live where the community pulls together. The bin collection days have improved majorly wherein the waste collection team have been arriving quite early and leaving less of a mess.

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

I wish I’d known that the kitchen would’ve been really small for a three bedroom house. I spend a lot of time in the kitchen and was quite disappointed for the size in my home. Although the Garden and the other rooms are decent in size, it would’ve been nice if the kitchen was too. I was pleased that I had a shed and a rotary washing line as well as a water tank for the garden. I was disappointed that there wasn’t a garden tap though.

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

My experience with Clarion Housing has been positive as they have been very good with responding to any concerns raised for repairs.

4

Facilities

5

Design

5

Location

4

Value

5

Management

Crest Nicholson is by far the worst developer I have ever bought a house from, would NEVER buy another house from this developer!

1.) House was rushed to finish to coincide with their end of financial year.
2.) Customer Support is very poor and they will almost always push back on issues and very very slow to put right. Slow to respond to emails, mostly longer than their promised 3 days.

For example, it took Crest Nicholson 3 months to come and fit a condensation strip to under the oven (10 minute job) which was forgotten by the kitchen fitters, this was when all trades were still onsite!

3.) Over 45+ issues reported with brand new house to date, 2 -3 outstanding after 18 months of ownership.
4.) Very poor finish throughout house;
4a.) Skirting painted straight over dust.
4b.) Uneven Karndean flooring
4c.) Dead turf
4d.) Unfinished mastic
4e.) Paint runs on walls
4f.) Exposed screws
4g.) Door thresholds not secure
4h.) Weather strips missed around front door and bottom of garage

5.) Drains were blocked prior to us moving in by builders with concrete.
6.) Contractors damaged personal car twice due to poor communication, once whilst it was parked in my own garage due to 7 below.
7.) Damaged garage due to drilling next doors gate and never repaired blown bricks, after two weeks of waiting I had to repair this myself.
8.) Dead trees planted in public places.

Overall attention to detail and quality of work is poor.

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

Bishops Waltham is a small village but has shops to cover most requirements, post office, Sainsbury, Fuel etc.
Many great walks and parks… excellent for dog walking and friendly.
Parks are well looked after, bin collections good, no anti-social behaviour where we are.
Very little traffic noise as away from main road but do hear some loud exhausts occasionally.
Friendly neighbours.

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

How poor the aftersales service would be and how Crest Nicholson will push back on most issues with the house that is clearly due to poor materials, workmanship or lack of attention to detail.

What is the best feature of your home:

Location is great
Layout of house is good
Good kerb appeal