We made a few visits to the site as the development (1st phase) went up and were shown plans outlining street furniture, types of soft landscaping etc and all was well. We ended our rental agreement as we didn't need another six month lease and moved everything we owned into garages amongst friends and family.

Christopher Browne meets a couple whose spirits were dampened by their new home. Family ties and low property prices persuaded Gavin and Julie Griffin to buy a new house on a George Wimpey Homes estate near their childhood city of Sheffield. Read more...

At this point we then inspected the property and found approximately THIRTY defects. Some of these were cosmetic, some more important (i.e. the bathroom light could only be turned on if the hall light was already on).The site manager then mentioned to us that he had fitted the thermostat on the top floor (this is a three storey house) because the electrician could not trace the wiring where it should be.