Dream home turns into nightmare for family
DISTRAUGHT residents of a Woodley housing development have been moved out of their homes as their two year battle to fix hundreds of issues rumbles on.
Tracey and Jason Bass and their daughter Emily are three of the 11 Loddon Park home owners who have been placed in the Winnersh Holiday Inn by developers Taylor Wimpey over the last several weeks.
The Bass's three bedroom property is currently having its walls ripped out, the latest in a long line of serious renovations undertaken on the development's supposed model homes.
Shortly after moving in in August 2014 Mr and Mrs Bass found few of the £25,000 of extras they had tacked on to the £375,000 price tag for the three bed home had been installed.
Later that year they discovered frost on their living room carpet, leading them to realise that a construction company had failed to install any insulation.
Things took a real turn for the worse when the family returned from holiday last February to find a loose pipe had leaked gas into their home. On inspection, British Gas said the house would have gone up in flames had they turned on the lights.
Another gas leak landed the family's dog in the vets through poisoning.
“I am close to tears most of the time and so are my friends and neighbours,” said the 43 year-old Mrs Bass, who has endured three months of intense building work over the past two years.
“We haven’t found anyone living here who is happy.
“We can't sell the house because no one in their right mind would buy it. It is completely worthless.”
Sales managers Mr and Mrs Bass daily return to their property to inspect the on-going work and check on their possessions, which are currently piled under sheets in the middle of rooms.
Although living in a hotel is not ideal, particularly with a 16 year-old daughter on summer holiday, Mrs Bass said it is preferable to a previous stint of construction carried out on their property.
“Last year builders came in and ripped up carpet for a week,” she said.
“There was dust everywhere which aggravated my daughter's asthma. I have been diagnosed with asthma since and I now have an inhaler.
“It is most definitely to do with the dust.”
Elsewhere on the development residents have had to cope with leaking roofs, wobbly walls and windows and a septic tank that leaked raw sewage into the street.
“We are not happy with Taylor Wimpey at all,” said Mrs Bass.
“We have paid a lot of money to live in a building site. Despite this we have only been offered £3,000 in compensation.
“The one positive thing is out of all this doom and gloom a great community of neighbours has come together.”
Taylor Wimpey insists they are working with the Bass family to resolve the issues.
A spokesperson said: “We would like to apologise for the issues the Bass family have experienced with their new home at Loddon Park and for any disruption that this has caused.
“We are working closely with them to resolve these matters and to support the family during this time."
