Cloakham Lawns, EX13

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

This is a development that was initially started in 2014. I moved here in 2015. The local shops and facilities are in the market town centre, about a mile away. As with many rural small towns, it would be fair to describe it as struggling, but not as badly as others. The estate design lacks forethought, in that many households have two vehicles, and sometimes a company works van. The roads are narrow with few pavements for pedestrians. The number of vehicles parked in dangerous and selfish places is increasing. People do not consider where their vehicle will be parked when buying or renting a property. A number of people drive far too swiftly along the estate roads, and this adds to the noise, at various times during the day.

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

My house is not managed by anyone other than myself. The two year after-sales service was virtually non-existent, and I quickly learnt it was far easier for me to sort out problems myself.

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

If you buy a new property on a housing estate from a big developer, be aware that the 'sales pitch' about subsequent customer care is probably dubious. The reason for customer dissatisfaction is clear: poor workmanship by contractors/sub contractors, a lack of inspection of their work by the developer, an attitude of 'that will do', and a willingness for developers to accept that every new build will have an extensive 'snagging list'.

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

It’s about a 10-15 minute walk for town which is excellent and the newly developed skate park means fun for everyone. Cloakham lawns in itself is an amazing community. There is a lot of on road parking who is good but sometimes can get tight in places if it’s very busy. It’s also a quiet area to live.

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

The building management team were excellent when we had problems when we first moved in.

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

We wish we knew about the intergrated appliances as they have been a pain to replace.

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

Cloakham Lawn is generally a friendly development, with low levels of noise and anti-social behaviour. There are very few amenities on the development itself, but you can walk into Axminster in around 15 minutes, and there is a bus service that goes into town and to the train station. The development is situated near to open countryside and footpaths, and the local football and cricket clubs are situated on the edge of the development. Parking is becoming increasingly problematic as more people move into the area, but all properties do have an allocated parking space. Bin collections are regular and reliable, and Devon has an excellent recycling record.

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

Parts of the estate have very poor internet connection speeds which I know has caused issues for people working from home. It is not the whole estate, but it would be worth checking this when purchasing a property.

Please share one thing (or more) which you would change about your development:

I would like to have a bigger garden, and I wish there were more open, landscaped areas on the estate.

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

We have some anti social behaviour ie drugs and some crimes there is no were safe for the kids to play' cars driving in carpark too fast , the buses are every hour so if just going into town got to get a taxi the corner were we live is ok but not good further up the road is were the trouble is we do like Axminster and were we live

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

Not bad place to live if you keep to yourself, Yarlington is very good as a housings associate they do sort thing out if there is a problem,

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

Location is great, easy access to town, good range of shops etc. Design of development good but the management fees are too high for the fact that there is still so much building going on so we have virtually no facilities. A lot of mess, although the cleaner lorry does come regularly now. A good mix of properties which look appealing, will be interesting to see what facilities we get when the development is complete .... woefully lacking at the moment.

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

One problem resolved very quickly and helpfully, but others left to drag, I ended up paying for repairs myself.

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

High management fees with very little to show for it. However, a good community feel, reasonable privacy between houses, not enough parking but overall I like living here.