A Culcheth green space has become a dumping ground

Samantha Lafferty lives in Ravenfield Close, Culcheth, and is concerned with the state of the public green space that is associated with the property.

When Samantha moved into her new-build property, she was told that a service fee would be charged to residents for the maintenance and upkeep of the green space.

However, she claims the public space is not being thoroughly maintained, and Samantha has also suffered a litany of issues since moving into her home.

Samantha says the area is not well-maintained (Image: Samantha Lafferty)

Samantha said: "The development is a small close of 15 properties with what we were promised to be a biodiverse meadow to the rear, with a pond and trees for sole use by the residents.

"However, the land is no more than a weed, rubbish and rubble-filled site with an empty pond - full of rubbish and visible black lining - and a few trees planted at the entrance.

"Many of the trees are falling over and there are lots of empty tree supports. I never see any maintenance taking place on the site."

She added: "The space was originally a green pasture for horses, but when Elan Homes built our houses, and houses on a nearby development, multiple trucks dumped tonnes of rubble onto the site."

Samantha says that her home was mis-sold to her due to the state of the public areas (Image: Samantha Lafferty)

Samantha went as far as to withhold the charges for maintenance works, as she did not believe that any maintenance was being undertaken, though she eventually relented and paid the charge - which, when combined with legal fees, amounted to more than £1,100.

A spokesperson from Elan Homes said: “In redeveloping the site of a former truck dealership in Culcheth, we’ve provided public open space along with new homes, in line with the requirements of the local planning authority.

“Following completion of the scheme, remedial works were undertaken to the public open space in accordance with inspections by representatives of the council. 

"The public open space was handed over to a management company in January 2023 and the land is no longer under the ownership of Elan Homes.

"The maintenance of the public open spaces is covered by a service charge, administered by the management company, and funded by all residents of the development.

"This is common in new developments, is explained in writing to all purchasers at the point of reservation and clearly documented in legal papers signed by all purchasers.

“Any issues with ongoing maintenance and fly-tipping should be reported to the management company and local authority."

Samantha even withheld her maintenance charges at one point as she felt that the money was not being spent on maintenance (Image: Samantha Lafferty)

The spokesperson added: “We are unable to comment on specific homeowners’ complaints, but can confirm that all properties, including the show home, were built to the highest standards and are covered by an NHBC Buildmark structural warranty.

“Our after-sales team is committed to resolving any outstanding issues and ensuring customer satisfaction. The team is also available to provide further guidance on the NHBC warranty if requested.”

It should be noted that the Ravenfield Close development, which was known as Culcheth Green, is no longer visible on Elan Homes' website's list of locations.

A spokesperson for Estate Management Solutions, the company responsible for the management of the site, said: "Following the handover of management to EMS on March 1 2021, several residents expressed their concerns about the standard of finish to the rear land.

"We initiated communication with Elan Homes, and they confirmed a meeting had been held with the planning officer; subsequently, remedial work to rectify the residents' concerns was arranged.

"Throughout the process we maintained regular communication with Elan Homes and the residents, providing updates where required."

Plants were left in a poor state on the site, Samantha says (Image: Samantha Lafferty)

They continued: "In January 2023, we received confirmation that the work on the rear land had been completed, and the full handover to residential control could be completed.

"Subsequently, on January 27, we issued communication to all owners requesting any comments or objections following the completion of the work, no comments were received.

"On March 23, we sent communication to all owners, initiating the handover process to residential control and inviting interested owners to come forward for appointment as resident directors on the board of the Residents Management Company (RMC).

"Two owners volunteered and their appointments were duly made at Companies House completing the process of handover to residential control.

"As of this date, EMS hasn’t received any specific instructions from the Resident’s Management Company to make any further improvements to the rear land or any requests for additional maintenance."

Samantha says that the green areas around the properties are not well looked after (Image: Samantha Lafferty)

Regarding another piece of green space on the land, EMS said that it was not their responsibility to tidy up the space.

They added: "Concerns were raised about the unauthorised use of the common area and the appropriate action was taken to remedy the breach.

"The responsibility to make the area good after removal of the plants falls with the responsible party, not EMS as the managing agent and/or the residents via the estate charge.

"We assure all residents that we continue to pursue the responsible party to remedy the breach in full at no additional cost to the other residents.

"We encourage homeowners to engage directly with our team regarding any concerns they may have.

"It is our priority to address these concerns promptly, efficiently, and to the satisfaction of all residents."