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Fed-up residents complain newbuild homes keep flooding when it rains
Some people have been living at the newbuild development in Cheshire for less than a year and have been experiencing flooding problems.
One of the advantages of buying a newly built property is that it's a blank canvas for you and your family to create your own memories - unfortunately, they can sometimes come with their own set of problems, too.
That's the misfortune being experienced by residents living in a newbuild development in Cheshire, who say their gardens have been left "unusable" as they become logged with water when it rains.
Helen Logan, 42, is one of those who has criticised developers Countryside, claiming residents have "no drainage in their gardens" at Rivers Edge, Warrington, and complained that nobody is trying to "sort it out".
The mother-of-one has also been told she might need to pay around £1,200 to get the drainage fixed - despite living in the property for less than a year.
"I am a single parent family, with a dog, and spent a lot of money - basically all my savings - to make a nice home for me and my son," she said. "Now my carpets are ruined, covered in mud, my rug is disgusting, after being covered in mud. Also, my beautiful sandstone patio is covered in green, from where the water isn't draining away from there either.
"It's actually heartbreaking and very upsetting to have no one take this seriously and attempt to get this fixed."
She says some people experiencing issues in the development, featuring three-and-four-bedroom homes selling from £318,000, have been living in their homes for less than a year in some cases.
"There have been no land drains added and the turf has been placed on top of rubble, with no topsoil," said Logan, adding that management company Torus is "not willing to do anything either".
Vicki Batterbury, 51, purchased her home in June last year, with Countryside coming to visit her property as early as March after she had similar problems with her garden.
She was told that because she had installed a section of paving, that they were "unable to take any further action".
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Batterbury says she emailed Countryside, which merged with Vistry in November 2022, and said the company originally came to look at her garden in December 2023.
"It had been particularly bad weather, so it was agreed they would come back in the spring. They returned on 20 March to look at the garden again, after I requested they come back," she said. "The garden was waterlogged before we had patio areas installed. They are using this as an excuse as not to assist us. We have not seen any proper report at all."
She says even a picture taken by a Countryside sales rep from April 2023 showed surface water, adding: "We actually believe they are in breach of NHBC standards on all of our gardens."
'It cannot carry on into next year'
Millie Howe, 21, another affected resident, has lived in the house for just over a year and has complained countless times after the "unusable" state of her garden.
"Something needs to be done about the garden's flooding. My contact is Torus but we have not had any response from them at all," she said.
"We have had one man from Countryside come in when it was really bad. He came and said 'yes it is obviously unusable'. The dogs cannot go out as they end up covered in mud. It cannot carry on into next year."
A spokesperson for Vistry Group, representing both Countryside and Torus said: "We apologise and appreciate the frustration this issue is causing to residents at Rivers Edge and we are working with our partner Torus to resolve it as quickly as possible.
"We are in direct contact with affected customers and will be updating them regularly as the remediation works progress."
How to check if your home is at risk of flooding, and what to do
Not only can the impact of flooding be dangerous, it can also result in you losing your valuables and, depending on what you do for work, your livelihood.
If you've recently moved to a new area and want to see how at risk your home is of flooding, you can use these online tools provided by authorities in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
If you do discover you live in an area at higher risk of flooding, you can sign up to free flood warnings for England, Scotland and Wales. Alerts are not currently available for Northern Ireland.
You may want to come up with a flood plan, which can help you prepare for the worst and limit the damage caused to your home.
Your local flood agency or council should be able to provide a template for this, but you can put together your own using this list by the Met Office as a guide:
A list of useful contact numbers - including your local council, utility providers and your insurance company
How to shut off your electricity or gas supply
Move your valuable belongings to a safe place
What would you need to move to safety during a flood – think about your pets, car, furniture
Who could you ask for help?
Could you offer to help vulnerable friends or neighbours?
Having a flood kit at the ready can also help you cope when things go wrong. Your survival pack could include; insurance documents and list of contact numbers, a torch and spare batteries, a first aid kit and any prescription medicines, warm waterproof clothes and blankets, bottled water and snacks, a battery or wind-up radio, supplies for caring for your baby or pet.
You should also be thinking about making your home more resistant to flood damage, including by laying tiles instead of carpets, moving electrical sockets up the wall and fitting non-return valves. You could also fix flood boards to your doors and windows, use plastic covers to seal airbricks or place sandbags or barriers outside your home to keep floodwater at bay.
