We have had ongoing issues with our downstairs toilet having a really poor flush, which have been highlighted to the management team previously and so fixing it is an ongoing issue (the other toilets in the property are unaffected). The kitchen is spacious and modern and comes with built in appliances (fridge freezer, washer/dryer, oven and hob), the dining room is attached onto the kitchen so it’s nice to entertain and have people over.

Through the door is the living room, which has large windows and door looking out onto the garden. Our garden gets the sun throughout the day which is fantastic, however it does struggle to drain properly after heavy rains and our small paved patio bit easily goes under a few centimetres of water if we have a few days of rain.

Upstairs both the landing bathroom and our ensuite are lovely and having a large second room has really helped when it’s come to working from home and having a home office. I’m also a fan of being able to have the heating on upstairs but not downstairs and vice versa!

As for the development and management team themselves, they’re fantastic. Always putting on events like Ice Cream Vans, Pizza Ovens (with beer!), Father Christmas comes round in December I think – they really try to field this community feeling. All our neighbours have also been fantastic and friendly and everyone seems reasonably respectful when it comes to having people round and keeping the noise down in the early hours!

Overall, if I had to rent again in future, I’d definitely be looking for a Simple Life Home.

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

Earle Street is just a 5 minute walk from Earlestown Centre, which has quite a few big brand high street shops (Wilkos, Home Bargains, Boots etc.), as well as a load of small and local shops like Butchers, Florists, Coffee Shops, Pubs, Bakers, Pound Shops, Clothes Shops etc. A bit further away in Newton there’s loads of bars, restaurants etc. which would cost you about £5 in a taxi home. In Earlestown there is a reasonably large Tesco, McDonalds and Weatherspoons, plus a pharmacy and a doctors all within easy walking distance of Earle Street – we’re even blessed with a cricket club across the road!

There are two train stations, Earlestown is only a 5 minute walk away and Newton station is about a 5 minute drive away, main bus route into St Helens and Warrington. There are plenty of open green spaces, parks, rural walks and they’re all accessible on foot – fantastic for taking the dog for a walk.

Earle Street is a main road, so traffic can be busy at certain times throughout the day, but due to the large driveways on the development, you’re not right on the pavement/road, which is really good. In the time we’ve lived here we’ve only really had one instance of people coming home from the pub across the way loudly, which is fantastic.

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

We actually didn’t get to have a viewing before we moved in due to the pandemic and us pretty much moving in right after the previous tenants had left. We were also looking round a similar Simple Life property in Clock Face, St Helens, but decided it was too remote for us. After moving to Earlestown we are SO glad we chose this development. Plenty to do locally, lovely little community and really close to St Helens/Warrington/Liverpool/Manchester.

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

The drainage/flush for the downstairs toilet is poor. This can cause embarrassment when we have people visiting and the paper from the last person to use the toilet hasn’t flushed. I believe the toilet was put in with this kind of flush to maybe use less water when flushing and ultimately save a little on the water bill, but the result is that you can’t use anything further than 2ply paper.

I would also address the drainage issues in the garden. If it was my property, I’d place a channel at the back of the garden where the drainage is worst (over winter this never dries and is a complete mud bath) so water could drain away properly rather than sit on the soil.

5

Facilities

3

Design

5

Location

3

Value

4

Management

I understand that the pandemic caused companies to scale back on staff, possibly change their business processes, etc however from a resident’s perspective it came across as unprofessional. Communication is key and I feel that this is an aspect for growth for SL. Good or bad, as a resident I would like to be updated.

Recycling facilities could be better. We don’t seem to have enough bins support the amount of resident waste. Which is why I take my recycling directly to the centre.

As previously mentioned, that apartment itself looks amazing however I do feel that the layout is not quite as ‘use friendly’ as it may appear. It’s not been great having the main bedrooms of the apartments being next to each other. Furthermore, although having an inbuilt wardrobe is a great idea it would be prudent to place it in the most optimal position. For my apartment I feel that it is in the wrong place. It takes up so much of the room that I literally do not have anywhere else to place my bed. It was quite stressful trying to find a suitable bed that would not require me to squeeze past to get around! I do feel that the bedrooms are rather small and to be honest, if I had viewed the apartment beforehand (couldn’t do so as it was still being built) I might not have taken it.

It is a shame that there are no balconies. With such a lovely view it would’ve been nice to be able to sit out and enjoy it. I probably would’ve paid a little more rent for a feature like that.

Overall these are slightly higher than average apartments but what make SL stand out is that they try to elevate the experience by eliciting a community feel (website features, Instagram, etc). Their concept is fantastic and I have enjoyed their events and am grateful for their desire to create a unique residential community experience. They just need to get a little more organised with their back office, which will then set them above all other management companies.

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

Great location. Close to all amenities and I love the view of the canal from my apartment. There is easy access to the city centre, parks, motorways.

The surrounding area of my development site has a good layout. However the street is a little narrow which makes it a bit difficult to manoeuvre. I’m guessing this is due to 2 car households as the streets are congested with cars. Many people do not adhere to the speed limit and I have had many near misses. Which is of course not the fault of Simple Life but it is a constant worry as there are children around.

I am in the apartment block and it’s been quite challenging. Although my neighbours seem nice (in passing) I am constantly having to deal with weed smells (I am unable to keep my windows open), noise, lack of respect when parking (the neighbour next to me tends to go over in to my space making it difficult for me to park my car) and there are a few dogs here too.

As with most new builds nowadays the walls are hollow, which makes for an increase in noise. I can hear everything around me. There is also what I think is an issue with how the apartment main door is installed. It pushes and shakes the neighbouring apartments’ doors making it extremely noisy when people are going in and out of their apartment.

Externally from my apartment the bin area can get quite messy as it seems that some residents don’t seem to respectfully dispose of their refuse. However, in the past few days it seems to have been tidier but I’m not sure for how long. The main door for the building is on a very short time release for the locking system which means that the latch is released before the door closes which in turn leaves the door unlocked!

I have not received a meter reading since April. Since they are meant to be monthly this isn’t acceptable and it has left me having to pay estimated billing. I have been asking for over a month, to no avail.

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

* As I had to pay a holding fee before the building had been finished that left me locked in to something that I may not have taken, had I’d been able to view
* Researching SL website gave me a clear idea on what the company was about and how the community minded they are – it was a great selling point

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

It’s been a little hit and miss. The Fixflow service is pretty good. User friendly and easily accessible. However there has been times where there is a disconnect between the contractor and SL, which has left me in the middle trying to sort it all out. Which I assume is not the idea of how Fixflow is meant to work?

When is comes to calling SL it’s not been great. I have had to make multiple calls to chase, when it really should be the case of one call and then I can trust that SL will get on it. Unfortunately that is not happening at the moment.

One disappointing aspect is that there is a small children’s park that is due to be opened. We have lived in our rental property for over 2 years and it is still to be completed.

The design of the house is good although the garden design has been a problem for us since day 1. The previous tenants also had the same problem in that the garden has terrible drainage problems due to it not being flat. We consequently have rain water that builds up close to the French doors and it causes flooding, especially during the winter months. It’s an almost impossible task to keep on top of the lawn because of that.

In terms of the property and maintenance we haven’t had any problems and the inspections have been fine and not intrusive. The administration of the development by Simple Life has been good although I am confused as to why we had to pay £30 a month for a pet dog for over a year for it to then be cancelled without being refunded.

The development is a pleasant place to live and we have been happy living here.

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

The development is ideally located next to Prescot train station. There are direct trains to the centre of Liverpool which is so convenient. Cables retail park is also a 5 minute walk and so there are many shops and supermarkets nearby.

We live in a corner house that is crossed by 2 streets, although our property feels a tad exposed in terms of privacy, we haven’t had any issues with neighbours and the development is reasonably quiet and traffic is not an issue.

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

I wasn’t aware of the poor quality and design of the garden before we moved in. I also wasn’t aware of how exposed our house is in terms of privacy.

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

Regarding the lawn, not very well. It still has terrible drainage problems and is impossible to keep on top of. In terms of a couple of maintenance issues that we had in the house, very good.

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

The local area is nice. Walkden can be a little run down at times, with a lot of boarded shops, but the people are friendly, there are places to walk, the travel links are excellent, and job opportunities are booming. Reynold’s Place is very close to a motorway, which is a turnoff for some people, but I find the sound of traffic quite calming, especially at night – having come from the depths of the countryside where things are generally completely silent.

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

The washing machine has a setting for shoes! Great for refreshing your trainers after a run on the dusty roads in summer.

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

Had a few maintenance issues, and Simple Life have sent maintenance personnel out within a few days for non-urgent issues.