The management however has a lot of work to do to improve their image and services. It sometimes takes weeks before you get a reply from the estate manager. The property management tends to send letters that aren’t relevant to all property owners which causes a lot of confusion.

The service charges are ridiculously high and goes up every year. A recent increase is at over 30%. This is not sustainable. We would be paying more service charge than mortgage soon!

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

What shops/restaurants/bars? There are none on the estate when we were promised they would be built by 2019.

Parking seems to be an issue in phase 1 where there are too many apartments with too few allocated parking spaces. Parking in phase 2 and further is much better with 2 allocated spaces per house.

It’s really nice to have allotments and raised beds nicely designed and close to the houses but the fencing was recently stolen despite security bolts holding them down. Some cars have also been broken into in the previous years and walls vandalised so security could be improved.

There is a bus that goes through the estate with a very friendly driver. It might be better if people could pay with a card or something convenient instead of the only and very antiquated way of cash/coins to driver to purchase a physical ticket. That might encourage more people to take the bus.

Most drivers slow down in the estate but some drive recklessly past the school and where kids are playing. We need more road safety signage. There should be a priority for cyclists all along the roads in the estate and clear signs to let drivers know that this is an eco estate. We prefer bikes and walking to cars and speeding.

The 1st play park was beautifully designed but not with children in mind so it ended up being huge and great to look at but nearly useless for kids who are surely the most important park customers. The later parks had more sense and incorporated familiar elements such as slides and swings which are now the kids’ favourites’

One commendable element is the design of green spaces, wide walkways and wheelchair friendly accessible areas throughout the estate. Much more so than any other new build estates we have seen and we’ve seen a lot in many parts of the country. The challenge however is to stop drivers from parking their cars illegally on drop curbs, roadsides and pedestrian pathways, blocking the intended wheelchair access!

Despite being mis-sold on the savings we’ll make living on an eco estate, which is next to nothing (higher heating bills, ever increasing service charges), the best part of this estate is the incredible community. Everyone you meet here is very friendly, genuine and more than you can ask for in a neighbour.

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

The ever rising service charge and the fact that there isn’t really any savings on heating bills.

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

They managed to resolve all snagging issues, some several times over until it was fully satisfactory so no complaints there.

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

My street is by the best street in Elmsbrook. I may be biased but I have great neighbours and we respect each other’s property and privacy. At the same time we look out for each other’s property and the friendly spirit is welcoming. The traffic noise could be a little less but being close to the main road contributes to this. Parking is great as all houses have a drive and garage. It would be nice to have a shop and restaurant in Elmsbrook sooner than later. It’s been too long. Open spaces are great! I love taking walks in Elmsbrook especially in Autumn and Spring. I love where I live and will be here for a while.

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

Wish I had known that the secondary schools around were not as good. Wish I had know how wonderful my neighbours would be🙂.

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

Average. Waiting was a terrible and you get passed around.

I worked my way through the snagging list but it appears all the houses have faulty front doors and I have a squeaking floor in bedroom one. I experienced a flood in the garden when I had a shed base and shed put down and had to remedy that myself with a deep layer of soakaway stones as we are built on clay and a flood plane! The final straw was when the outside lamp posts were installed and I found I had one inserted by my front door and at the back of the house by the parking area. I emailed constantly to ask these to be repositioned or given smaller bollards but it went on deaf ears. I am very disappointed with the building management and property management as they do not listen or review the plans if it is obvious that the design and impact of something is going to upsetting and wrong. I now have light pollution pouring into my front and back garden and straight into all my rooms, so it is impossible to sleep with open curtains in the heat. I wouldn’t recommend A2Dominion/Fabrica to anyone else – choose a different property developer. My mood has saddened living here, rather than feeling uplifted at having a new home. I would say my house is the worst on the development in terms of negative features.

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

This development is a 20 minute walk to Cranleigh along a footpath that is finally near completion. Cranleigh itself is a nice village with a small Sainsbury’s, Co-op, M&S food hall but you have to pay for car parking! It is about 10 miles from Guildford to get to the rail station and 13 miles to Horsham. My street has nice neighbours and at the moment it is a quiet no through road.

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

I think it would have helped to be invited to view the house at a couple of stages during the build to how it was coming along. I discovered my lack of a feature window because I came along for a sneaky peak. Also due to Coronavirus everything was paperless and I think it is so important when buying a house to have the back up paperwork.

What is the best feature of your home:

The best feature is the open plan airiness of the house and two decent sized bedrooms. The tiles in the bathroom are very nice too.

1

Facilities

3

Design

3

Location

2

Value

1

Management