Residents of a new housing development have criticized a housing association after their gardens were turned into “swamps” and left unusable for two years.
Residents living on Wilmot Road in the Malinslee area of Telford, Shropshire, say their backyards have become a “muddy quagmire” due to lack of drainage.
Jayne Peate, 63, moved into her family home with her two adult sons and 11-year-old adopted child in April 2022 – but was never able to use her garden.
The host family said: “It’s a beautiful house with a very nice garden but we just can’t use it. It’s a muddy quagmire.
“In the summer we have about two weeks where it’s dry enough to walk on, the rest of the time it’s just a mud pit.
Jayne Peate in the garden of her house on Wilmot Road in Malinslee, Telford
Peate, 63, moved into his family home with his two adult sons and 11-year-old adopted child in April 2022, but was never able to use the garden (Picture: Muddy Grass)
Jayne said she had to pay more than £1,200 for a new patio and fence (Pictured: mud in the garden)
The homes on Wilmot Road in Telford were built by housing association Nuplace
“Some houses have been shown as family homes with gardens, but none of the families in this row are able to use their gardens – they are all the same.
“There’s no drainage here and there’s just dirt and clay underneath, so the water stays there.”
Jayne said she had to pay more than £1,200 for a new patio and fence, as well as more than £1,000 for new flooring and carpets.
She added: “It made things so much better, but I shouldn’t have had to pay for all of this.
“We had the patio just to have a place in the garden we could use, but I needed new rugs with the dogs constantly hanging out in the cup and ruining them.
“And what about the other families in this row?” There are people here whose children have to play in the street because their garden is unusable. This is simply not acceptable.
Jayne says Nuplace, the Telford & Wrekin Council-owned housing company which built the property, is not helping to fix it (Pictured: puddles in the garden)
Jayne says she pays £1,014 a month in rent to housing association Nuplace (Pictured: The muddy garden)
She said she was paying £1,014 a month in rent to Nuplace housing association, the Telford & Wrekin Council-owned housing company, which built the property.
Jayne added: “I have spoken to the council leader, Shaun Davies, several times and went to Nuplace, but they have not fixed the problem.
“They have since increased the rent, but I am paying for a family house with a garden that I cannot use.
“We have tried to contact councilors and the Lovells, who built the houses, but no one seems to want anything to do with it and nothing is being done.”
Emma Bowen, who also lives on Wilmot Road with her husband and three children aged four, seven and nine, said they too had not been able to use their garden for most of the time they lived there. She said: “It’s really frustrating.
“We have been here for two years and at first we could use the garden, but the situation has only gotten worse. It is now completely unusable.
A total of eight families on Wilmot Road say their gardens were unusable (Picture: Jayne’s waterlogged garden)
“My youngest loves to play outside, but we can’t let him use the garden because it’s just covered in mud.
“It makes him throw tantrums. We have reported this to Nuplace several times but nothing has been done.
A total of eight families on Wilmot Road say their gardens were unusable, with the lawn soggy and waterlogged throughout the year.
Another resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “Our gardens are like swamps, we can’t use them and it’s all due to shoddy workmanship.
“The developers or housing association need to take some responsibility and sort the problem out.
“At first they looked lush, but after the first rain they were practically in ruins.
Nuplace said it was working to resolve the issues raised by Wilmot Road residents. (Pictured: Jayne’s muddy garden)
“We just want to be able to enjoy our gardens rather than living in conditions that wouldn’t be out of place on a pig farm.”
Nuplace said it was working to resolve the issues raised by Wilmot Road residents.
James Dunn, director of Nuplace, said: “Tenant satisfaction is a key priority for Nuplace, and we would like to reassure tenants that we are working to resolve the issues that have been raised.
“While we remain committed to the works that need to be carried out, the ongoing repair works are being heavily affected by the unprecedented wet weather we are currently experiencing.
“Nuplace will continue to liaise with each tenant on an individual basis around the timescales for works that will be carried out subsequently.”
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