The building has a communal central heating system which is run by an external organisation. The charges for this system are far too expensive and you have no choice but to use them if you want heating and hot water. Water + electricity + heating + internet bills therefore can easily add up to upwards of £200 a month for a one bedroom flat, especially during winter.

Etiquette of certain fellow residents is extremely poor. Littering about the building and allowing their dogs to soil communal areas are frequent occurrences. Management apparently does little in this regard as this problem is ongoing for over two years.

Bikes are regularly stolen from the storage areas that are supposed to be inaccessible to the public. Security therefore seems like a lax issue to management.

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

Several amenities in short walking distance such as Tesco/Sainsburies, Costa Coffee, Chinese food store, iGym, and McDonalds. A stone throw away from the North Acton tube station but this means that it is quite noisy. Maintenance on the tube is often done over night

Huge HS2 construction site right next door which is very noisy and regularly works 24 hours a day.

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

Just how noisy it actually is outside. We were told before we moved in that the windows were triple glazed and so we “wouldn’t hear a thing”. This may be true but the seals on the doors are rubbish and let in plenty of noise from the tube and nearby construction sites. I cannot recommend living here if you prefer the quiet or are a light sleeper.

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

We have had mixed experiences with communication from management. Certain employees are extremely quick and courteous but others have left us waiting for responses for weeks.

Design Negatives: Superficially pretty but in some ways a bit silly when you look past the initial impression: Showers ONLY have rainfall shower, no handheld. The studios and 1 bed appartments have full sized dishwashers which take ages to fill up or you are running them basically empty. The freezer to fridge ratio is a bit off and you have way more fridge than what a single person living alone can use, yet a tiny freezer. Main lights are nice and bright but way too harsh at night and no dimming. The windows have very thick frames which are right in the middle of the view, They could have definitely made them one piece windows. The builtin microwave is too silly, too many capacitive buttons and menus to select basic options

Design Positives: Otherwise the room layout makes sense, great insulation, nice floor (carpet only in the bedroom!), kitchen is well fitted. Ethernet wiring in the walls too (mind you I had to finish the wiring off myself becausee the contractors clearly left it half finished).

Building Management: Polite front desk and helpful with everything, probably anyissues there are directly due to being understaffed, issues with bin shoots every week, issues with bin management in the basement. The carpark has had bikes stolen a couple of times, with people getting through chains and lock cables in plain view of the cameras. The gym is finally open but the promised gym classes are only available tuesday and thursday during work hours. The climbing wall is still not open. Finally there is a major issue regarding utilities as they seem to be handled by a sham company (community utilities, just look them up) with no customer service, no indication of prices, no meter readings and no ability to change. You are locked in with a ticking time bomb of unknown poportions which doesnt reply to any form of communication.
Now to be clear, this is not Castle Park View staff, but we are locked into this other company due to them and I have not seen any real help in resolving the situation from Castle Park View

Other Tenants:
A minority of other tenants must be wilfully ignorant or malicious as theres constant issue with waste management partially due to them, and one or two fools letting their dogs poop around, or making piles of dog poop bags (????)

Overall it really does have fantastic potential to be the top rated flats in bristol however they have to sort out some niggling issues: Gym classes, Climbing wall, bike safety, waste management, Utility company.

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

Towering over Castle park, the views are great, but it does come with the draw back of some rowdyness and anti-social behaviour from drunk people passing through the park. Theres even drum circles on sunday and what not in the park which can be sometimes annoying.

Its in quite a central location, but not fully central. Means you have a 12min walk to Temple Meads station. 5 min walk to the tesco express/weekly market in finzels reach. Across the park is the broadmead mall and Cabot Circus. For nightlife its all a 10min walk, Left Hand Giant is literally a stones throw away.

Voi parking outfront is very useful, buses are quite a bit further away but still only a 5~10min walk

Being central bristol however it is rife with petty bike theft. And Castle Park View has been hit a few times, even in areas which should be considered well protected. Some shady characters have catcalled some women in the darker areas of the park but otherwise i have not heard of further escalation. Sad reality of city parks.

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

How bad the utilities company was going to be. How long it would take the gym to be opened up.

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

They have been working on it, and have increased the level of communication, but the root problems have not been fixed yet. I expect it should improve over time, and are simply understaffed, and overwhelmed.

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

Fantastic Birmingham city centre location. All our favorite places are walking distance from home. The development has its own private podium where residents can enjoy spending a “private outdoor” time under the sunlight. Aston University is across the street, Bullring is 5 minutes walk. It’s just perfect for those who wish to be time efficient at enjoy a luxurious life style at the same time

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

1- Noisy neighbors (Students probably)
2- No access to 12th floor terrace

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

1- Layout of the bathroom is a waste of space. 2 doors and absolutely no place to put anything…
2- Access to the 12th floor Terrace. I am a person who truly enjoys fresh air and elevated grounds. It is very unfortunate we have no access to the Terrace

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

This area providing comprehensive amenities, shops and restaurants, and transport links. As the department is near the Wembley Central station, that is super convenient and just takes 2-5 mins to walk. Also, there are many different supermarkets and shopping centers around, only take a few minute’s walks as well.

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

Living in The Assembly, you would always suffer the noise pollution caused by the siren of the police car and fire engine, as there are both a Police station and Fire department nearby.

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

I would like to change the classic key opening doors lock design into an electronic one, that would be more convenient.

3

Facilities

4

Design

4

Location

3

Value

3

Management