Fed-up residents say they were sold a dream when buying homes on a new-build estate – but it\u2019s now turned into a nightmare.<\/p>\n
People began moving into Nightingale View in Hamstreet, near Ashford, in 2023, excited about the quiet village setting, with some even snapping up properties off-plan.<\/p>\n
From left to right: Clifford Jolin, Alan Brown, Marion Jolin, Alan Jopling, Yvonne Jopling<\/p>\n
But for more than two years, householders have bemoaned issues with the site\u2019s landscaping – including cracked footpaths, dead trees and patchy, dying grass.<\/p>\n
The concerns have led Ashford Borough Council (ABC) to investigate whether any breaches of the planning permission have occurred.<\/p>\n
Nightingale View was built by Bovis, part of the Vistry Group, which has made national headlines recently after facing financial challenges, including slow sales and a share price slump.<\/p>\n
The developer insists it is working on a plan to get the 80-home estate up to scratch, footing the bill for all required fixes.<\/p>\n
But many residents remain frustrated.<\/p>\n
An area earmarked for hedgerows never made it out of the ground at the Nightingale View estate in Hamstreet, near Ashford<\/p>\n
Alan Brown was one of the first arrivals in September 2023, moving to Kent to be closer to his grandchildren after 40 years in Scotland.<\/p>\n
He told KentOnline: \u201cWe liked the village setting, and I remember looking at the plan they sent us, the house and thinking this is going to look really nice.<\/p>\n
\u201cOther estates we saw looked really great, neat and tidy. So it\u2019s really disappointing we\u2019re here now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although the developers promptly fixed snagging issues, it was not long before the landscaping problems became apparent.<\/p>\n
The 64-year-old added: \u201cWe bought the house based on the promise we would have a dream house in a lovely landscape environment, which enhanced the village and conserved the environment. It’s now a bit of a nightmare for everyone living here.<\/p>\n
Cracked footpaths can be seen across the Nightingale View estate in Hamstreet, near Ashford<\/p>\n
\u201cMy family turned up for the first time and were like, \u2018What have you bought here?\u2019 We paid more for the garden, and my grandchildren couldn\u2019t play in it because it was flooded.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven now, walking around the whole estate, it\u2019s actually quite depressing. People look out the window, and see this complete mess that’s been left for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Brown says an \u201camenity area\u201d with benches and bins has still not been installed.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt just shows they haven\u2019t even put in the basic infrastructure,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey came here, promised the world, do what they need to do and get out as quickly as they can.\u201d<\/p>\n
The rements of trees which have died on the Nightingale View estate in Hamstreet, near Ashford<\/p>\n
A landscaping masterplan, submitted to ABC as part of the original planning application, showed grassed areas, hedgerows and tree planting.<\/p>\n
Yvonne Joping, who has lived in Kent for more than 30 years, also questioned the developer\u2019s maintenance of the estate.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey planted lots of things with this plastic around them, but no one ever maintained anything. They never got watered,\u201d the 73-year-old said.<\/p>\n
\u201cTrees were put in, but they were never looked after, and I estimate about one in ten has survived.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverywhere\u2019s just covered in weeds, and generally it\u2019s a mess.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alan Jopling, 83, fears nothing will grow on the Nightingale View estate in Hamstreet, near Ashford<\/p>\n
Her husband, Alan, added: \u201cThe main problem is the site is on Weald Clay, which won\u2019t support plant growth. As soon as it gets a bit dry in the summer, that\u2019s it, they die.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was very little topsoil, and it\u2019s just got washed away, the plants have died, and we\u2019ve just got a load of plastic left.\u201d<\/p>\n
Last month, maintenance of the estate was transferred to Gateway, a property management firm based in Essex.<\/p>\n
Vistry originally quoted residents \u00a3245 a year for the service charge. But they received a letter saying this has now increased to more than \u00a3600, without explanation.<\/p>\n
The fee covers 22 visits a year for grass cutting, litter removal, plant management and tree pruning.<\/p>\n
The landscape masterplan submitted for the Nightingale View estate in Hamstreet, near Ashford<\/p>\n
Clifford Jolin, who has lived with his wife Marion in Hamstreet for 20 years, said: \u201cI don\u2019t see where the increase has come from.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe just want to see the developers do what they promised and take a bit of responsibility for the estate.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vistry says it is focused on bringing the development up to the \u201cintended standard\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe recognise some residents are disappointed with the landscaping and are sorry it has not met expectations,\u201d a spokesperson said.<\/p>\n
The circular area was meant to have benches and be a meeting point for residents<\/p>\n
\u201cVistry will fund all necessary remediation, including replacing any dead or missing trees and resolving wider landscaping issues, and residents will not be asked to cover these costs.\u201d<\/p>\n
An ABC spokesperson added: “We are aware of some of the landscaping issues raised concerning the development at Nightingale View and are currently investigating them to determine if any planning breaches have occurred.”<\/p>\n
Gateway has been contacted for comment regarding the increase in service fees.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Fed-up residents say they were sold a dream when buying homes on a new-build estate – but it\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":627109,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[3859,84,59,36757,192,191,194,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-627108","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-ashford","tag-business","tag-gb","tag-homes-news","tag-human-interest","tag-kent","tag-syndicate","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/627108","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=627108"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/627108\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/627109"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=627108"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=627108"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=627108"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}