Sanctuary Supported Living

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

Rose Manor in Hadleigh has been a disappointing example of poor estate infrastructure and inadequate maintenance. The private road serving just six properties is already deteriorating, with asphalt breaking up and a pothole beginning to form despite minimal traffic. A street light has also remained out of operation for weeks, with no effective response from the developer. These problems should not be occurring on a relatively new development, and the lack of urgency in addressing them raises serious concerns about long-term maintenance and construction standards. **Hadleigh itself is a good place to live. Charles Church's delivery and management of Rose Manor have seriously undermined the experience.**

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

**Appallingly. In my experience, Persimmon's Customer Care department is disorganised, ineffective and incapable of honouring its commitments.** For approximately 18 months, I have repeatedly chased outstanding investigations and repairs. Since September, management has been unable to organise a meeting it requested itself. Three senior representatives have been proposed, two appointments cancelled at the last minute, and my repeated offers of availability ignored. In October, Persimmon told NHBC it was willing to investigate or rectify several defects. Almost a month later, nobody had contacted me to arrange the work. **Their promises mean nothing without action.** I have wasted countless hours chasing this company and rearranging paid work because its representatives cannot manage basic communication or appointments. I have escalated matters to NHBC because I have no confidence in the developer's management or Customer Care department. **The level of incompetence and disregard for customers' time is staggering.**

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

**I wish I had known how Charles Church and Persimmon treat customers once they have received their money.** I wish I had known that a supposedly premium new-build home could have missing insulation, persistent unpleasant odours, airtightness concerns and numerous defects that would remain unresolved for approximately 18 months. I wish I had known that senior management could repeatedly cancel appointments, ignore correspondence and fail to organise even basic investigations. Most importantly, I wish I had spoken to more existing Charles Church homeowners about their experiences with defects and aftercare before purchasing. **The show home sells the dream. My experience of Charles Church's aftercare has been a nightmare.** Had I known what I would be dealing with, **I would not have purchased this property.** My advice to prospective buyers: **investigate the developer, not just the house. Once you have completed the purchase, you may discover how little its promises are worth.**

What is the best feature of your home:

**The location in Hadleigh — certainly not the construction quality or Charles Church's aftercare.** The house itself has been overshadowed by persistent defects, confirmed missing insulation and unresolved construction concerns. It is difficult to appreciate the features of a supposedly premium new-build home when you spend approximately 18 months chasing the developer to investigate and repair problems that should have been identified before handover. **The best thing about my home is its location. The biggest disappointment is the company that built it.**

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

Seems too good to be true & it definitely is, while the building is lovely the management and staff are appalling, my dads health declined dramatically and subsequently dies shortly after moving in, staff then bullied & harrased my widowed mother for the next 4yrs, even turning up at her door while she lay dying accusing her family of faking it.

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

That staff are poorly mannered and the manager is a bully

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

Great location, quiet area with a town minutes up the road. Easy access to the A500. Plenty of parking, easy bus routes too.

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

Yes issues are always dealt with very promptly. Good service

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

Really worth viewing

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

As a person who has lived in Stoke-on-Trent all my life, moving to Middleport was not too traumatic. I expected to see what I saw out of the bedroom window- there can be no dressing it up as if it is in a Country Park! Bus links are obviously not what they used to be, but this is not an issue for me as I drive my own car. Parking facilities at Baskeyfield House are very good, there is never a problem getting a space. Traffic noise is not a problem either, as it is on a quiet street in Middleport plus the double glazing is very effective. There is currently some kind of development going on nearby, which I'm sure will be an improvement to the view but means that large diggers/ earth movers etc are a constant feature. Again, this does not bother me- it's quite interesting to watch their progress each day!

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

This question needs to be re-phrased to make it adequately understandable. Who/what exactly is "the building management"- do you mean the Manager at Baskeyfield House? If so, the manager has recently changed. The staff I speak to most about any problems or issues are the Reception staff- who attend to my problems swiftly at all times.

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

I was made fully aware of everything before I moved in- there were no surprises.

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

We don’t feel able to go into the nearest area of shops at night time. It isn’t a very nice area. I cannot comment on facilities in that respect. We own a car so have not used public transport but my daughter visit by bus which drops her off in Newcastle Street, quite a way for someone older to walk especially if they are disabled. There needs to be a bus stop on the estate. The biggest problem is the congestion on Newcastle Street. Parking on our development is poor. Whatever the person who designed this part of the development was thinking about, we have no idea. This is a development of 80 flats for people over the age of 55 with particular needs. Bearing that in mind, there are 4 disabled bays and very few parking spaces, so much so that on some days you cannot park on your own car park, whether you are disabled or not. There appears to be quite a bit of anti social behaviour in this area. We never see community police walking about although we have seen them come into the building. We don’t experience any road traffic noise, but we do have daily noise from 7am to 5pm on weekdays and 7am to 12 noon on Saturdays from the Potteries Waste Transfer site with lorries constantly coming in and out, and the noise of rubble being tipped and the lifted again, which, with the continual dust, is not what we signed up for. We were told the transfer site was to be relocated but we have spoken to them regarding the noise issues and he says he will move if he is paid enough.

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

They have responded very well. Some things take longer to sort out but that is not always the fault of building management. I just wish they would sort my bathroom sink. Winter is coming and I would like to wash in hot water.

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

Definitely the noise from the waste transfer site. We were told it was moving and it seems unlikely to be in the near future. Also be mindful that if you are not on the top floor you may have a noisy neighbour above, especially those with wheelchairs as you can hear those moving about. Make sure you ask questions