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

Very lovely area but could do with a shop more local. Not ideal if you don’t drive . Traffic at night can be loud.

If you drive it’s a great location lots in driving distance for leisure.
Will be great when park is finished.
Leaf living been absolutely amazing throughout.

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

A very lovely area and home would recommend it to anyone we love living here 🙂

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

A few issues mould on the windows is back radiator is making a loud noise in one of bedroom but a plumber is out next week to take a look for us which Marc has sorted for us.

One thing that I think our development could benefit from is a small store on site to pick up small grocery items. Additionally it would be great to open the road so that the community has access to Arundel road. It’s been closed off since we moved in which has been inconvenient when you just need to fill up your car or run to the Waitrose.

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

The good:
We are very fortunate to have incredibly friendly and helpful neighbors within our development. We feel happy with the overall proximity to Chichester, Arundel, Bognor Regis, and many beautiful walks near the South Downs National Park. We often enjoy dinner and or drinks at the local pub The Old Stables which is walking distance from the estate.

The Bad:
One of the biggest reasons we chose Leaf Living Fontwell was because of the promise of a playground for our son to be able to play with other kids. Unfortunately the playground has been closed off for the entirety of our tenure here with no signs of opening up. It’s gotten to the point where we feel hopeless that it will ever be a priority to open up. We’ve talked with many other families within our community who feel similar frustrations with the lack of priority to finish and open up the park.

Additionally, we have grown very tired of the constant construction always happening in our neighborhood. We constantly share the road with earth movers using the main roads and we worry about running over a nail or screw. The construction noise starts up every morning when the sun comes up and continues all day until the sun goes down. It’s become very tiresome and no longer enjoyable to walk through the neighborhood because of constant dirt, and pylons, and trucks/earthmovers/blockades/fences constantly in the way.

Because the community is all new build, we’ve had quite a bit of black mold pop up on our baseboards and in humid areas. We found traces in some of our bedrooms where we obviously sleep so it’s been a constant battle to check for it and clean as soon as it appears. During the summer it was ok to open the windows to circulate air, but in the winter it just keeps popping up and it’s not really an option to open up all your windows when it’s cold outside.

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

I wish I had known the reality of the playground not being open for many months. One of the main reasons we chose this space was because we were under the impression we’d have access to the field/playground for kids to play. Instead it’s been completely closed off to anyone in the community with no word on when it will be opened. To be completely honest, we would’ve chosen a different location had we known we wouldn’t have access to it.

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

Generally building management has been quick to respond and they are always friendly. There have been a few isolated times though where we’ve not received any help with a request but I’d say overall they’re quick to respond and try to keep us updated.

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

Really pleased with the location of the development. Haven’t experienced any problems with traffic noise. Great to have weekly bin collections, driveways are lovely and wide. The street we live on is great and the neighbours we have met so far are all lovely.

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

Wish I’d known about the development sooner is the only thing! Love it here .

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

Any queries we have had have been dealt with quickly and efficiently.

Firstly, parking. We constantly receive letters asking to not park on the road outside our homes. The only issue is the car ports are so small, families can’t get children out without damaging doors or climbing across interiors.
Gardens are unusable in the winter. Apparently this is acceptable to leaf. The irony being while residents face lawns that are bogs and brown, leaf say it is due to waterlogging and poor weather (I.e. they won’t fix) but simultaneously trying to get those who move out to pay for a full returf. The two aren’t matching up.

We were really hopeful moving in. We were sold a dream. But the reality is this is a very poorly managed property. The rents are astronomical (much higher than private rentals on the same estate with other smaller agents) , the 24/7 property management is a bit laughable to be honest. The “negotiation” on rents we were promised when first moving in is more of an ultimatum, and the emails everyone gets are “pay this huge increase or leave”. And good luck getting that with the 2 month notice we were all told. It was more like 6 weeks and when we reply, it takes another good 2 weeks and chasing to get replies.

All in all, this is a disappointment. Flooded roads, all winter long. Selfish developers blocking driveways when we need to leave for work, leaving us late for work, a non existent property maintenance team, unusable Gardens for 6 months of the year. The houses are warm, I’ll give them that. And relatively cheap heating. But honestly, I am very disappointed with leaf living.

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

Very little available on foot. The park is a welcome addition, albeit it was over a year late. Leaf appeared to do little to help speed this along.

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

Kitchen storage is very small, and we are luckier than many with how much we have. If you enjoy cooking you will find it a nightmare.

Parking ports are very narrow, most family cars struggle to open both doors easily.

The car port charger is a 3 pin plug. Not a proper e charger. Utterly unsafe and not effective. Definitely angry over that as we were specifically told there would be e chargers in the car ports.

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

Poorly. As mentioned, they are happy to bill everyone when moving out for items, but for those who are living here with the exact same issues, the fixes are non existent