Angry neighbours have blasted a top property developer over the quality of a new-build housing estate where ‘driveways and gardens aren’t level’ and kitchens are so wonky the cabinets appear to ‘levitate’. 

Furious propery owners say they have had to fork out up to half a million pounds to fix their properties after Persimmon Homes ‘cut corners’ on the Cambridgeshire estate.  

Residents of Clarke Close, on the outskirts of Cottenham, raised concerns about the quality of their homes which have cost some homeowners between £380,000 and £500,000 to fix. 

A spokesperson for Persimmon Homes, who describe themselves as a ‘five star homebuilder committed to making dreams a reality’, said the homes conform to current regulations. 

Vessy Register, 52, moved into her home in January 2021 and said she noticed problems straightaway. 

Angry neighbours have blasted a top property developer over the quality of a new-build housing estate in Cambridgeshire 

Vessy Register (pictured) said she would not have bought her house if she knew about the problems she has now found

She said her front door is now difficult to close, her garden and driveway are not level and that water pools outside her back door whenever it rains.

Mrs Register claimed Persimmon had not resolved these issues and she could not afford to get a solicitor to support her or fix the problems herself. 

She said: ‘I’ve already paid a lot of money for this house – why should I pay more money?’

She said she would not have bought the house if she knew the problems she would face. 

‘I would like to enjoy my house – instead of that, I’m chasing somebody to fix their mistakes,’ she said.

Paul White, 57, got the keys to his Clarke Close home on August 22, 2022, but didn’t move in until the end of September because he said there was ‘so much outstanding work to be done’. 

He said he had made a list of nearly 200 problems at his property which he has raised with Persimmon.

‘Both the bathroom showers were leaking,’ he said. ‘I’ve got kitchen cabinets that are levitating off the floor.’

Homeowner Paul White says his garden floods every time it rains 

Water collecting outside the back door of Ms Register’s home in Cottenham

Mr White said other issues included walls that were not square, cold spots, render falling off the walls, damaged skirting boards, and rainwater coming through air bricks. 

‘There were many, many things that I brought to their attention that could have been corrected at the building stage,’ he said. ‘They are cutting corners.’

He added that his garden floods every time it rains due to poor drainage. 

He said that every time he raised an issue with Persimmon there was ‘constant pushback’ and he struggled to get problems resolved.

Yuen Chan moved into her home in December 2021 and lives there with her husband and son. 

She said her house is ‘freezing cold’ with ‘draughts everywhere’, which she thinks has made her son’s asthma worse.

A thermal imaging survey confirmed numerous areas of poor insulation and air infiltration. 

‘It’s really stressful,’ Mrs Chan said.

Paul White said he believed Persimmon had ‘cut corners’ while building the estate

Several other neighbours, who wanted to remain anonymous, reiterated that they had experienced problems with their properties including ineffective drainage, missing air bricks, leaking garages, leaking bathrooms, and damaged windows and doors. 

One said: ‘We are really disappointed in Persimmon.’

A spokesman for Persimmon Homes East Midlands said: ‘The homes within the Redland Grange community at Cottenham were all built to conform to current regulations and the homes have been inspected on several occasions with no breaches of these regulations found. 

‘We are working through some issues with several residents and are keen to make appointments to return to the homes to carry out repairs to bring their homes up to the standard they should be.

‘We are sorry that residents have experienced some flooding in their gardens this winter. 

‘While we work to mitigate flooding both on and off site during our design and build, this winter has been the wettest in 130 years and as a result we have seen flooding where we would not normally expect to. We will revisit later in the year to review the situation.’

No breaching of the current regulations has been found.