Developers leave flats in disarray, resident claims

1:48pm Thursday 17th January 2013 in News

Tony Benfield in the communal hallway leading to his penthouse flat Tony Benfield in the communal hallway leading to his penthouse flat

A LUXURY penthouse suite is still in disarray despite builders carrying out repair works.

Tony Benfield owns a flat in the Reflections development on Hythe Quay, built by developers Barratt Homes three years ago.

But Mr Benfield, 56, said the exclusive apartments had plummeted in value because of the original shoddy work, and communal areas were in a poor state.

Peter Creighton, of Barratt Eastern Counties, said: “We will discuss the issues raised with the management company, who are responsible for the maintenance of the communal areas of the building and look to establish why they have not been resolved.”

Comments(5)

Grabber says...
3:29pm Thu 17 Jan 13

I thought that a penthouse suite was on the top floor of a block, the picture shows a handrail for a set a stairs going to another floor.
Also I have seen better quality communal areas in a council block and there is a massive issue with damp on that wall poor bloke must be gutted !

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QuarpQuarp says...
7:51pm Thu 17 Jan 13

Why does a building built 3 years ago need maintenance work doing on it? It's a feeble deflection by Creighton. Surely Barratts have cut corners(costs) here in the build process, but still sold at a 'premium' price? They should be accountable. Gazette reporters should be a bit more challenging and dig a little deeper.

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No.1 says...
9:08pm Thu 17 Jan 13

Grabber wrote:
I thought that a penthouse suite was on the top floor of a block, the picture shows a handrail for a set a stairs going to another floor.
Also I have seen better quality communal areas in a council block and there is a massive issue with damp on that wall poor bloke must be gutted !
Instead of looking, read the picture. He is in the communal hallway and the stairs lead to his penthouse flat.

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Grabber says...
9:28pm Thu 17 Jan 13

I stand corrected No.1 but my point still stands that communal area looks cheap and shoddy seen better in a council block

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romantic says...
10:28am Fri 18 Jan 13

Grabber, I think that is kind of the point! I think when these flats were first planned, they were seen as being part of an exclusive area which would be centred around the marina which was to be developed, and with talk of relocating Hythe station in the area. I´m sure the developers envisaged a place filled with young professionals merrily jumping onto the train to London each morning, and thought they would sell like hotcakes.

But the marina hasn´t come yet, and the station has not moved. I believe a couple of years ago, they were pretty desperate to sell these places, even to the extent of offering two for the price of one.

So Barratt have probably got the cheapest maintenance company they could find. Got to feel sorry for the people who paid full whack and moved in early. There are still some plans for the Hythe area, so in a few years, it could still become the creative marina community that was originally pictured.

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