Dad buys new £270,000 residence however finds one thing very uncommon protruding of the wall
A gobsmacked dad-of-five couldn’t believe his eyes when he spotted a Costa coffee cup jutting out from the wall of his brand spanking new £270K pad. Author Justin Lee Anderson has been on a mission to shake up the law after spilling the beans that the cardboard cup was snugly wedged into the wall of the new build home he snapped up from Persimmon in 2019.
He’s been locked in a three-year battle to get a laundry list of snags sorted at his family digs in Wallyford, East Lothian, Scotland. Mr Anderson branded the whole saga a “terrible experience” and, realising he wasn’t alone in his misery on the new estate, he stepped up as the vice-chair of the tenants and residents association.
Now he’s lobbing for the Scottish Government to roll out a housing ombudsman to arm homeowners with the clout to demand tip-top standards and make sure builders cop it when they muck up. He exclaimed: “I couldn’t believe how bad our experience was.”
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And, “We literally had a Costa coffee cup sticking out of a hole in our wall.”
Mr Anderson is also gunning for local authority planning committees to have the muscle to knock back applications from developers who’ve made a hash of things before.
He spilled more dirt: “Our heating was hooked up backwards, so that the upstairs thermostat was controlling downstairs and vice versa.”
Plus, “Our bathroom extractor fan is connected to a tube that’s literally just hung on a screw in our attic – it doesn’t go anywhere!
“I’ve heard horror stories from so many neighbours. Loads have similar problems of extractor fans venting into their attics.”
“One house has had a section of render just fall off. We even heard from a former Persimmon employee that the company refer to our development as a ‘failed estate’ because of all the complaints.”
Mr Anderson believes the problem comes back to a lack of oversight.
He said: “There is a presumption of competence given to housebuilders which is just wrong and allows them to get away with shockingly poor standards without any real consequences.”
He continued: “Planning committees can’t legally refuse a planning application from a builder as long as that application meets regulations.”
“There is no consideration of the builder’s record of competence. So they can build as many terrible houses as they like and keep getting planning permission for more.”
Musselburgh councillor Shona McIntosh, Scottish Greens, suggested Mr Anderson to use his membership of the Scottish Green Party to put a motion to the Autumn Conference.
The motion to support the urgent creation of a housebuilding ombudsman and to give planning committees the right to reject planning applications from builders with a poor quality record successfully passed at conference and will now become a part of Scottish Greens policy.
Cllr McIntosh has called for developers to face the music, stating: “There need to be better protections for home buyers and the Scottish Government must get on and work with the UK government to set up an ombudsman as an urgent first step.”
She went on to demand a tougher planning process, saying, “The planning process should be better equipped to ensure standards, whether that is with better powers of enforcement, stricter conditions on quality control and environmental impact, or ultimately, to be able to refuse or withdraw permission from contractors who have been sanctioned by the ombudsman – all these options need to be on the table if we are to protect consumers and build homes that will last for future generations.”
Mr Anderson chimed in with his hopes for change: “I sincerely hope we can get this on the books.”
He highlighted the need for quality in housing, adding, “We need more houses, especially more affordable housing, but they have to be built to a decent standard, and there’s currently not enough in place to ensure that. Homebuyers need more support and protection from the government.”
Meanwhile, Persimmon expressed regret over the situation with homeowner Justin, who moved into his property in 2019. A spokesperson commented: “We are disappointed that Mr Anderson did not receive the level of service we strive to provide and we apologise for the inconvenience he experienced.”
They also noted, “While we have not been made aware of any issues with the property since 2022, we are committed to addressing any concerns brought to our attention.”
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