Woodford Garden Village, SK7

Before purchasing a property at Woodford Garden Village, think very carefully before you decide to do this and what you can expect and the final product. The show homes are lovely, the sales guys in the office are also polite and professional. There are many items that should be included in the standard price of the home but are not so expect to spend at least £20k in additional extras to get the home you are looking for. As an example, a dishwasher is not standard, and close to £1k, the standard fit doors are MDF and of terrible quality, the bathrooms have limited tilling, additional lighting and sockets are expensive. Check all of this out before you decide to buy. Then, you get to the final product. The quality of the final product is nothing short of terrible. We got to a house that was filthy with rubbish left in the garage, all the floors covered in hard dried plaster, rubbish left under all the kick boards in the kitchen and under the bath, at least half the doors badly damaged, sockets nearly all fitted badly and wonky, the woodwork badly damaged throughout the house, spot lights fitted that didn't fit into their sockets as they had been over drilled or handcut, a bath not fitted and sealed correctly that leaked through to the kitcthen and needed a full re-board. Painting terrible throughout, the kitchen units damaged, TV aerials not fitted, brickwork done so badly it had to be replaced, windows not sealed correctly both inside and outside, trip hazards upstairs with a landing finish they said was fine and wasn't and a health and safety breach, numerous leaded windows damaged, parts of the tiles not fitted correctly, missing shelves in the kitchen, a sink not fitted correctly, missing parts to the shower room, missing skirting to hot water tank cupboared, plants in the front garden just thrown in and not planted correctly. Then, you have the so-called trades people who come back and fix what should have been done correctly the first time and your home is then constantly invaded by people who damage your home further and don't tell you with handles ripped from cupboard doors, blinds damaged, serious water damage to carpets, drawingword and plaster from drowing a ceiling with a shower head, , scratced hobs, unfinished work and people not turning up for appointments, the list goes on and on. The trade people that do come back explain what is really going on, which is pressure on deadlines and targets, so things are rushed and people won't say if they know something is clearly wrong as it will cause a delay and they will be in trouble. You are then told though, this is fine as everything will be put right afterwards and it's a man-made product not off a production line, so don't expect it to be finished to a high standard. Come on Redrow is 2023. Homes were built with more care and attention in 1883, so there should be no excuses. There are some good people at Redrow who try to get things fixed, but there is a serious issue at the core of this business with communication and organisation and until this is addressed things will never get better. I even had a director visit me at the home so I could show them exactly how bad things were which they agreed with and apologised again and again, but this is not taken seriously with a derisory compensation payment offered which you expect, would be much better when you spend close to £640k for what should be your dream home built and finished to a very high level standard. All I would say is buy one of these new properties at your own peril. It isn't just myself that has had a problem, every one of my 4 neighbours on Ashton Chase has had exactly the same problem with the final end of their property, so it isn't just a one off. The whole experience for us has been completely ruined and left us in a position where we don't want to live here anymore so we have decided to sell the property in 2024 and purchase somewhere else that isn't a new-build home and most certainly not a Redrow home. Some pics attached to see the final product

The design of the development has been to build as many houses as possible so the houses are very close together, narrow roads and small gardens. Although there are some parks and green spaces to offset this. The houses themselves are well designed. There are not many facilities on the development at present but once completed there will be more parks, shops, a school and a pub. There are local shops close by. The development has good transport links and close to larger villages for more shops and restaurants etc. The green spaces are well maintained.

Generally a good standard of property and building works however, Redrow’s customer management team are lacking in skill and expertise. We have told them that they need an overhaul of their staff who manage customers who have moved in to their property as they aren’t capable of dealing with the demands of the job, nor know what they’re talking about in terms of construction works. Unfortunately the contractors they use have had to repeatedly come back to put things right which has shown a lack of skill on their part too. Overall, the design of the development is good although there are minor features that we always pick up on that if Redrow took time to have that extra bit of care, the development would benefit greatly, especially aesthetically. This matters because it is a highly desirable and high end development. Some things we witness, as we have lived with the development as a building site for years now, clearly aren’t checked by a senior member of the team and things are a ‘rush job’. The property management company are non existent and have changed manager multiple times. Every time we contact them, there is a replacement manager. It has been impossible to get anywhere with them. We are also yet to see any of their employees working on the development apart from mowing the grass verges and the green. This has been disappointing as there is much to be done. However, with the turnover of managers, they are showing a lack of consistency and care and very poor communication. We want to know where our money is being spent and after 3 years, we are yet to be given a breakdown.

Nicely laid out. Houses visually aopealing. Parking for two cars given to all properties. Not as warm as expected as front and back doors of old design. Noise from windows disappointing. House designs good. Lots of snagging still to be fixed. Brickwork disappointing. Play areas well designed and popular. Village green lovely feature.

Mostly excellent house designs, Some excellent straight-ish, long-ish roads with sensible near-rectangular plots. Mostly good-length front gardens, with advantage of hedges or fences between the gardens and the road or footpath and the gardens either side.