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Ymyl Yr Afon is a collection of two, three and four bedroom homes in Merthyr Vale. This development transformed a former colliery site into 153 high quality homes.
Ymyl Yr Afon, CF48 Reviews
Write a Review Upload PhotosLack of landscaping
The development has been let down by the landscaping, especially at the front of the estate. We were promised rows of hedges or trees for privacy and this has not been done. You can walk from the main road up onto the private road. The design of the estate is okay but wished there was more designated parking for visitors as cars are often left outside houses on the Main Street due to the small driveways
Please tell us what you like and dislike about this area:
Great transport links, 2 minute walk from the Merthyr Vale train station and on a bus route. Local leisure and GP surgery within walking distance. But a lack of restaurants and cafes within the town.
Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:
Cars speeding down the main road which can be very loud. The estate is full of young families which is great for socialising and play dates.
What is the best feature of your home:
Lots of windows allowing for natural light. The hallways are very spacious making it great for families with young children in prams. The layout of the home is lovely and having the kitchen at the back of the property makes the garden sociable for hosting.
I love the layout of my house.
We have had issues with water getting into the garage which I feel is unacceptable given the price we paid for the property. Communication from the office is good and they do respond quickly. I feel that the ground service change could be lower also.
Please tell us what you like and dislike about this area:
Close to train station and lovely waking sites. Close to community centre and recycling centre.
Loads of parking
Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:
Wish that we knew that the garage was not waterproof as my partner and wants to put a gym in there but cannot as we get so much water coming in.
What is the best feature of your home:
Large Utility room with space for washer and dryer.
Plumbing problems but nice area
We’ve had problems with the way that the houses in the street have been plumbed into the sewerage, this problem caused our downstairs toilet to often back up and our neighbours downstairs toilet completely flooded. The layout is nice. The walls are difficult to hang things too.
Please tell us what you like and dislike about this area:
The good things about the area is that there are 3 corner shops, a couple parks, two schools, a doctor surgery and train station all within walking distance.
Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:
It is a flying start area which is great giving us two hours of free childcare.
What is the best feature of your home:
The layout is nice. The energy rating is good. The appliances included with the kitchen are a nice touch.
Brilliant house layout
Brilliant house layout love the kitchen and dining space and the utility room and large entrance hallway and good size bedrooms.
However……The management of the grass areas around the estate is not very good at all..! Weeds coming through the pavements already and newly planted trees have blown down and have not been replaced making the estate look slightly run down in places.
Please tell us what you like and dislike about this area:
Brilliant location so close to the train station.
Not many local restaurants but Merthyr Tydfil town centre is a short drive away.
Close to the community centre, swimming pool and library.
Love living in this street.
How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:
I have emailed them with ongoing issues and I did get a reply in a timely manner.
A beautiful place to call home
The design of the development is very good and the style of houses are very nice looking,it has been interesting watching the development site grow. I have immensely enjoyed watching as the first foundations were layed to watching each stage of the build progress to new people moving in.
Please tell us what you like and dislike about this area:
Ymyl Yr Afon is a lovely development nestled in the South Welsh valleys, It is just on the edge of a large town with all the amenities you need for shopping etc, but it is at the same time a lovely rural village which is growing into its own little community. Our new build has now turned into our forever home. The design of our house is perfect for us with everything we need for modern living, the quality of the fittings etc is good on the whole and we have only had a few issues and lovells have addressed these promptly. The only thing that I am disappointed with is the landscaping on the estate, it is only half finished and looks a little untidy in places in my opinion it is not maintained very well,I hope this will change when the development is finished. On the whole ymyl Yr afon is a lovely place to live.
Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:
The need to order the dust bins / recycling bins in advance
Opening times of local shops
How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:
Management have responded promptly to any issues that we had doing there upmost to putting the issues right. I was impressed when we first moved in we asked if there was a plumber to put in our washing machine for us but the site management done this for us for the price of a cup of tea.
Good experience
I love the design of my property & feel it meets my needs. I have had to report some snags which have mostly been dealt with in a timely & appropriate manner & most staff being friendly.
I do feel like my main issue has been my garden which did not have the NHBC recommended amount of topsoil & was left in am awful state. This cost a lot of money to rectify.
Please tell us what you like and dislike about this area:
Excellent range & quality of shops, bars & open spaces. There’s also excellent transport links & education settings.
I have my own drive that is small however fit for purpose. Lovell are yet to retarmac our shared drive despite being promised this a whole ago. This is damaging for our cars.
There is a little traffic noise but nothing too detrimental.
I have excellent neighbours on the whole.
Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:
The gardens are left in a bad state meaning you have to pay a significant amount of money on top of the sale price.
How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:
Yes. They have answered most queries in a timely manner however I did have to chase them regarding a recent issue.
Lovely development in a quiet area
The design is good, very spacious feeling to the individual properties and to the development as a whole. The area could benefit from a green space, or a playground, there is one near but is on quite a slope so not particularly useable. Building and property management seems to be ok, have dealt with any issues appropriately
Please tell us what you like and dislike about this area:
The area is lovely, it is predominantly only those who live here that regularly pass as its not particularly a through route to anywhere else. The area is not great for bars/restaurants/shops, a couple of take aways and corner shops but you would have to travel into town to do a weekly shop. Very good transport links, train station is walkable and easy to access the main road, also good for cycling/walking as it is very close to the traffic trail
Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:
The developer takes little responsibility for the garden even if commissioned to turf, this is not necessarily bad but is not as clear as it could have been
How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:
Representatives from Lovell have regularly stopped by to check if there any issues and that those reported have been dealt with
Jamie’s Review
I really love the design of my 3 bedroom house. I was really happy about my living room being in the back of the house too leading out into the garden. This was due to having a house on the front of the estate. My favourite design of the house is definitely the kitchen. I really love how it’s laid out.
Please tell us what you like and dislike about this area:
There is a lot of positives to talk about in this review. The parking is fantastic. Bin collections are done on time and there is no traffic. The area is quiet and the houses are well place.
Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:
One of the biggest things is this is the only site and developer I know that doesn’t give a basic garden to your customers who have bought a house.
How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:
They have been very respectful and have been more than happy to help with any issues I have had.
Heron walk review
Not a very good site run by WD Lewis
Roads were finished poorly and work goes ahead without any notice
All ok with location, garden was poor until we paid a fortune to complete it properly. Not happy with location of some of social housing. Right next door to my house.
Please tell us what you like and dislike about this area:
Bad road
Poor house design
Good location
Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:
I wish I would have had a better insight to how the house would be set out
How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:
Very very slow – no notice of when they turn up and there shouldn’t be any issues with a brand new house
YMYL YR AFON
The houses are designed well and are spacious. They look nice and there were the expected issues with new builds but majority of internal house issues were fixed quickly. I was initially worried about the size of the gardens but actually the size was fine, though my garden had constant issues with flooding.
The entire estate looks good, though there are issues. The trees planted around look really nice though the hedges that were planted at the front were planted during a heat wave and died straight away leaving dead ‘sticks’ in the place of a hedge for 2 years.
Please tell us what you like and dislike about this area:
Transportation is very good as it is close to the local train station and bus stops. Swimming pool and gym are very near but very little options for restaurants and shops.
Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:
Add £8000 to the marked price as you will need to spend this to fix the garden.
How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:
There have been numerous (8-10) issues with the house internally, most of which have been fixed in a timely manor.
Though there are some exceptions:
1) My garage got flooded every time it rained and Lovell supports response was it is only for storing a car. Better to keep your car on the road as that at least has drainage.
2)My garden was bad to the point of being unusable, pretty much a swamp after it rained (regular occurrence in Wales). This was only fixed when we got a landscaper to put in drainage and artificial grass.
Resident photos
