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Oxford’s newest neighbourhood, Mosaics is situated on the very edge of Oxford’s picturesque countryside, nestled amongst open green spaces and peaceful views across the Bayswater Brook.
Mosaics, OX3 Reviews
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Mosaics is a well designed development, the house design is modern and there is a lateral green park with a pond – my kids love to feed the ducks there. There’s X3 bus going to JR Hospital and City Centre so for my parents who don’t drive they still find this location easy to commute. My house was completed in December 2020 and luckily there are just very minor issues that needed touch up from Hill, their customer service team has been always responsive and helpful.
Please tell us what you like and dislike about this area:
Barton Park is the only new build development area in the Oxford City and Mosaics is the first development in this area. 5mins drive to Headington High Street where you can find Waitrose and Co-Op with many other local shops. 15-20mins drive to City Centre and Oxford Station make it a perfect location for residents who occasionally have to work in London.
Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:
I didn’t know the visitor parking is managed by third party company so park my car at a bay next to my house to load and unload, then got a ticket after like 5mins. So remember to put the visitor ticket even if you are owner and in public bays.
How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:
Recently my boiler has some leakages and I contacted Hill customer care team, they quickly arranged a plumber to look at it on site. I don’t expect they will help on this as the house was completed more than one and a half year.
Property management generally OK
Curb appeal of the development is an acquired taste however the grounds are a beautiful setting with landscaped gardening, a lake and plenty of benches. Property management generally OK but the fees are hugely expensive and provisions such as window cleaning are very poor. Except for a small park there are no facilities on the estate not even a small shop even though there is land earmarked for commercial use.
Please tell us what you like and dislike about this area:
No shops, poor bus service (only services JR hospital reliably and quickly, anywhere beyond is via a long circuitous route or more than one bus) and no local facilities within a reasonable distance. We are completely reliant on cars. Parking is a big problem as spaces are poorly marked leading to confusion. Dangerous crossing over the a40, another reason that it is unappealing to travel on foot around here. Traffic noise is a problem too. Beautiful landscaped grounds and lake. Access to fields is wonderful and will be missed once the new development starts. Trouble with theft, litter, graffiti and ASB around the lake area. More thought should have been given as to how to house expensive privately owned properties and council owned properties in very close quarters on the same estate.
Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:
How poor the sound proofing between flats is and that there would be no shops or anything built on this area. I would not have purchased knowing that the flat above me would be sub let as an Air BnB.
How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:
Problems are mostly dealt with satisfactorily by First Port.
Nice development
I think think this development is well designed, with a mix of different housing and open space. There is a sports facility with a tennis court and football field nearby. There is a bus route through the development but the bus can be noisy, especially at night.
Please tell us what you like and dislike about this area:
This is a new development, so there is no local shop, restaurant, or bar yet. Some shops are planned for the next phase.
Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:
The house is near a bus stop. Try viewing the house when there is a bus running through so that we know how noisy it is going to be.
How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:
Yes. There were a few minor issues with the new house. The service team quickly fixed those.
Super Place in Mosaics Oxford
Design of the development is well thought out and attractive. Nice green spaces, including a lake, to stroll around. The place is kept neat and tidy. Facilities by way of a shop are lacking at the moment so you have to get into a car to buy a pint of milk but a shop is coming in due course so that’s fine. Property management is responsive. On site property management person is very responsive indeed. Still waiting for some turfing to be finished off outside my building (and I’ve been here 18 months) but I know the property management person is liaising with Hill to get that finished. I have no doubt it will be done. In terms of my own property, the internal design and quality of everything is absolutely super. I would recommend.
Please tell us what you like and dislike about this area:
Lovely surroundings with a lot of effort put into the landscaped grounds. The development looks nice. A good mix of different styles that work together and make is aesthetically pleasing. Transport links are brilliant by car and bus. Parking is fine, although the contractor who monitors parking can be over-zealous. (my daughter parked up and came straight to my apartment to get a visitor’s permit. She returned to her car to find she’d had a ticket slapped on her windscreen with no warden in sight. The appeal was ignored and I had to pay a £60 fine which was crazy unfair. That felt like a scam and left a bad taste. Putting that to one side, I love living here.
Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:
I wish I had known that the building was not cabled to enable electric car charging points. I really assumed that a charging point would either be in situ for each apartment or could be installed at a reasonable cost, particularly noting the price of of my apartment (+£500K) and focus on the development being ‘green’. Turns out there is a cost of £18K to connect the building which would need to be covered by the (9) apartment owners, with the individual cost therefore being high), plus . There the cost on top for installing charging points. Why the building wasn’t cabled to enable car charging is beyond me.
How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:
Yes. Minor issues, e.g regarding a faulty smoke detector which seems stubbornly to continue to malfunction. The response from the management company is always very quick. I know they are working with Hill to resolve. They have also been quick to answer questions and clarify stuff for me. Very good.
It is okay.
Floor to ceiling windows are amazing. Good size living space, bedroom and bathroom, however no storage whatsoever. Large size balcony is great, but nearby traffic is noisy. Rooftop garden is pretty, however no one uses it, so could be repurposed for something more functional.. parking is ok, bins are ok.
Please tell us what you like and dislike about this area:
No restaurants/pubs in the area. Only corner shops nearby. Ringroad is noisy, it nearby meaning easy access. Park, pond, playground are nice. Countryside closeby is amazing. Not many extra parking spaces.
Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:
The countryside is amazing and all the available nature behind the development came as a great surprise!
How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:
Very high service charges. Bad communication. On several occasions switched water without any warning.
Great outdoor area but no other facilities yet
Such a shame a bridge was not installed as the a40 road seems very dangerous to cross as a pedestrian meaning cars are encouraged by default. The a40 cuts the development off from the rest of Oxford. The outdoor park area is well designed and well maintained.
Please tell us what you like and dislike about this area:
Unfortunately facilities are the last aspects to be added to the development. The park and outdoors area is lovely but the development lacks a shop or cafe/ central area.
Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:
It would be several years before any shop was built.
How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:
Yes – we had a number of snags but these were all resolved.
Great outdoor area but no other facilities yet
Such a shame a bridge was not installed as the a40 road seems very dangerous to cross as a pedestrian meaning cars are encouraged by default. The a40 cuts the development off from the rest of Oxford. The outdoor park area is well designed and well maintained.
Please tell us what you like and dislike about this area:
Unfortunately facilities are the last aspects to be added to the development. The park and outdoors area is lovely but the development lacks a shop or cafe/ central area.
Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:
It would be several years before any shop was built.
How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:
Yes – we had a number of snags but these were all resolved.
Nice environment, can have better service
We spent over a year to find a local football team for kid to join. The nearest Barton FC does not entertain services for us. There is also a lack of recreational facility nearby. PCM is responsible for parking. But I seldom receive their newsletter, I would like to know how to get extra visitors tickets, but I don’t know how.
Please tell us what you like and dislike about this area:
I do not prefer to have restaurants and bars nearby, therefore I will not cause a problem to me.
Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:
How the sun panels can be used to reduce electricity bill?
How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:
Not easy to contact customer services. Response is quick when sales office is here. But after sales office is removed, it is difficult to contact customer service. No information was given as to this communication access.
Although we really like this place but just the facilities inside the house sometimes have problems
I think I would like to change the kitchen design a bit, for example the working table a bit higher. Also all the walls painted better, made better because there are more and more cracks appearing on the walls from now which I think could be improved. Lastly the service charge is a bit too high and I think could reduce a bit at least.
Please tell us what you like and dislike about this area:
I think the nature is really good here really beautiful and calming，nice to relax outsude abd do exercises outdoor. Also the geographical location is very good and the traffic side is great. However the parking system isn’t that nice especially when my friends comes over.
Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:
Don’t just park the car anywhere, the charge is very expensive
How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:
The customer service have got in contact with the manufacturers who then came and sorted the problem
Good stylish design property but materials use need improvement
Design would rated 5 stars as it is really stylish and spaces are well planned in a good useable way. Facilities is not quite apply to my building has I don’t see much available, but if it has, I would rate average. Building and property management are good within the warranty period. However, the materials use and construction are really a turn down. Sometimes we found it very bad quality. Water leaking from the toilet, and affect the bedroom, for example. I don’t think it is acceptable for a new build.
Please tell us what you like and dislike about this area:
Design and style of the property are perfect and really stylish. Spaces and rooms are well planned in good shape. However, material on the interior and structure are not as good quality as the design. That make me rate it down 2 stars.
Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:
I am a walk-in buyer. I don’t go through agent. Hills sales office ladies are very helpful and very pleased to work with. The whole buying process is very pleasant.
How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:
It is ok within warranty period. Just because of the bad materials use, sometimes they have to come visit twice or repeatedly to get it fixed
Resident photos
