A Reading MP visited a housing estate in Woodley after ‘frustrated’ residents complained about the site’s inadequate maintenance. 

MP for Reading East Matt Rodda met with residents of the Loddon Park estate at the weekend to discuss the incomplete work by, property developer, Taylor Wimpey, and the site management company, FirstPort. 

Mr Rodda said the community is “deeply unhappy” with some of the “serious problems” that have been left unfinished on the estate. 

The MP noticed drains clogged with concrete, badly kept foliage, multiple trip hazards and partially completed footpaths.   

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“I am calling on Taylor Wimpey, FirstPort and Wokingham Borough Council (WBC) to sort out the appalling problems with roads and a series of other problems,” Mr Rodda said. 

Chair of the Loddon Park Residents’ Association committee, Simon Tregidgo, emphasised that the association would prefer to “work together” with local partners behind the scenes “rather than airing our dirty laundry” in public, but called the delays in completing the works “highly frustrating”. 

“[…] what were short term issues soon to be fixed as part of finalising the estate increasingly become safety concerns that need addressing urgently 

“[…] they advise they’re working as fast as they can, but the sudden action on the estate since Matt’s visit was announced implies that perhaps this wasn’t the case,” Mr Tregidgo said. 

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Many Loddon Park residents pay a service charge for site maintenance, as well as ground rent. However, despite making these payments, many feel they are not receiving value for their money.    

A Taylor Wimpey spokesperson apologised for “the delays in completing the outstanding works”, adding that they are “committed” to finishing them and will provide residents with a further update on July 25. 

“A programme of remedial work is scheduled to take place in August, and we will continue to engage with the management company and the local authority to ensure that all outstanding works are carried out at the earliest opportunity,” they added. 

Mr Tregidgo also explains a “bizarre” situation where residents must pay a separate external contractor to maintain the public country park attached to the estate – Wokingham Borough Council countryside services. 

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The executive member for planning and local plan at WBC, Cllr Lindsay Ferris, said the council is aware of residents’ complaints and shares their “deep disappointment” that much of the work appears to be “well below the standard” they could expect. 

“We’re doing all we can to ensure Taylor Wimpey resolves these […] We’re prepared to escalate this to senior management or the top of the company if this is needed to make people’s voices heard,” he added. 

The council plans to adopt the roads as public highways once finished but Cllr Ferris said that whilst it “can’t force Taylor Wimpey to complete the works” they are not prepared to acquire them unless they are “improved to our satisfaction”. 

“Regarding other aspects of the development which are covered by planning requirements, such as the planting, we aren’t aware of any reports to our planning enforcement team to date but will consider anything we receive and I’m working closely with the officers to establish our enforcement options going forward,” Cllr Ferris said.