We were promised a pretty landscape with our £400k newbuild homes but it’s been left to rot…we’re banned from fixing it
RESIDENTS living in a new-build village where properties fetch £400,000 were promised a pretty landscape – instead they got a nightmare.
Langley Country Park estate, located just outside of Mickleover in Derby, was completed years ago.
But according to those who live in the more than 500 homes, the place has been left to decline by those who manage it.
There are allegedly numerous issues including quickly deteriorating trees and two overgrown ponds, known as SuDS, at the entrance which don’t drain properly.
Weeds are said to line the kerbs, litter is strewn near the drains and there are lampposts with no lamps on.
They claim wood is splintering and the material on the back of one apparatus is torn and damaged in the children’s play area.
Stones and pebbles are strewn across the path through the middle and on other sections, the tarmac has cracks running up it either side.
Ian Debling, who moved in 2016 from Kirk Langley, liked the rural feel and the landscaping of Langley Country Park.
He has since become fed up with trying to get the problems sorted so he can be proud of where he lives.
Ian said: “They won’t listen to us. We’re not in control. We cant ask them to do anything because we’ve got no control of the management company.
“I’d recommend to anybody not to buy a new build on an estate like this because they’re all set up in the same way.”
He said he’d counted at least 50 “big” trees which had died in the course of the past year.
Most are still surrounded by their wooden supports despite years having passed since they finished growing.
Another tree pointed out has brown leaves, despite it being summer.
The base of its trunk is damaged because the residents say those who come to mow the grass banged into the bottom of it.
Michael Thompson moved with his wife from Burton and thought it looked a “lovely” estate with nearby fields to walk the dog. He says the appeal has gone now.
“It’s been let down, basically,” he explained. “When it was finished it was quite tidy but since, it’s just gone backwards.”
Michael Cummins, who moved from Hertfordshire, said he’s now looking to move away amid the issues.
Who is in charge of the land on Langley Country Park estate?
In the past, land on newbuild estates became council property once they were completed. This is no longer the case.
Nowadays, while the roads are still adopted by the council, communal areas such as parkland and grass verges eventually belong to a “management company”, set up by the developers – in this case, Miller Homes and Redrow Homes – while they’re still building.
During the construction process, the directors of the “management company” are usually the directors of the development companies.
Miller Homes and Redrow Homes hired Residential Management Group (RMG) to take care of all the maintenance work for them.
But once the estate is complete, the developers are meant to transfer the land from their own hands to the hands of the “management company” and resign as directors of said company
Local residents can then become directors and employ their own contractors for local maintenance work.
The land transfer at Langley Country Park still hasn’t happened.
It was meant to a few months ago, but uncertainty over which bits of land actually belong to the developers hindered the process.
As a result, the residents still have no power to sort their own problems out.
Management agency RMG have neglected the estate, they argue – and reject residents’ requests to sort it themselves through contractors they’ve sought quotes from individually.
Each of the 514 homeowners or leaseholders are also charged an annual service charge on top of their council tax.
The average price of a detached property in Langley Country Park is £291,782.
A three bedroom semi-detached house is currently on the market for £250,00 and a four bed detached is going for £360,000.
A spokesperson for Redrow and Miller Homes, said: “The land transfer is currently underway with the Land Registry.
“We expect this process to complete within the next three months, at which point we will arrange to hand control to the residents of Langley Country Park.
“In the meantime, the development is being maintained by the appointed managing agent, RMG.
“We will be following up with them to ensure any concerns relating to its upkeep are addressed.”
A spokesperson for RMG said: “Whilst the transfer of the land is a legal process which has to be followed, all parties are keen to hand over the running of the scheme to the residents.
“Until we can get to that point, we take on board feedback from the residents via our 24/7 customer contact team and our onsite Property Manager.”