Praise for TV star’s controversial housing project
8:40am Saturday 1st September 2012 in Latest News By Emma Dunn
Praise for TV star’s controversial housing project
A GRAND design which came under fire earlier this year is undergoing rapid improvement, according to a couple living there.
Louise Whichello and her boyfriend, Sam Read, both 20, moved into The Triangle when it opened last year and have spoken out in support of the 42-home project designed by TV personality Kevin McCloud.
In June, the Adver reported that residents at the Ferndale development had endured a rat infestation, damp and high energy bills.
But Louise said hundreds of pounds worth of work is being carried out to improve their home.
“The housing association looking after it are doing a lot of work on these houses. They are putting right the wrongs,” she said.
“Some people complained about the quality of the paintwork. The housing association have given everyone the option to have it redecorated or to have a B&Q card for £400 towards redecorating. They have re-done our kitchen worktops and flooring. The shed, which was coming apart, has also been re-done.
“They are giving us lots of options but only bad things are being reported in the press.”
The project prided itself on being eco-friendly, but residents said electricity bills soared, with one resident in June reporting that she was paying more than £150 a month.
Louise said: “It is a good place to live. If we have any problems we go to the housing association. The only problem we have had is the high electricity bills which they are sorting.
“They have refunded us some of the money and Ultra Warm are checking everyone’s systems.”
Louise said her first electricity bill, which was from July to October, was about £360.
Her last bill, which arrived in June, was £150. “It has halved. I don’t know about everyone else, but ours has gone down,” she said.
The Triangle was the first scheme launched by Haboakus – a joint venture between Kevin McCloud’s development company Hab and the housing association GreenSquare Mr McCloud was at the development this week to see the work that is being carried and to meet residents and the project team.
Vic O’Brien, GreenSquare’s development director, said: “GreenSquare took over responsibility from construction contractor Willmott Dixon for day to day maintenance issues and any non-structural defects at The Triangle earlier this year, and since then our tradespeople have continued to carry out this work.
“We very much regret that residents have had to bear the brunt of these problems and it remains a priority for all parties to ensure that these are resolved as quickly as possible and that residents are fully satisfied when the work's completed.
“Really good progress is being made with this and work has been completed at many properties with positive feedback from the residents affected. We are confident that the vast majority of the remaining work will be completed by the end of September.”
Comments(26)
Robh
says...
10:55am Sat 1 Sep 12
Worked Hard
says...
11:05am Sat 1 Sep 12
greenpacer
says...
11:27am Sat 1 Sep 12
SockPuppet
says...
12:19pm Sat 1 Sep 12
We can now enjoy the place as intended :)
As for the benefits comment from 'Worked Hard' you really don't know what you are talking about. As far as I'm aware just about everyone here works. All we have ever asked for is the completed homes that were offered and as the article states this is well on its way :)
house on the hill
says...
12:58pm Sat 1 Sep 12
Worked Hard
says...
2:11pm Sat 1 Sep 12
SockPuppet
says...
2:49pm Sat 1 Sep 12
vely as ignorant as most bigots.
Worked Hard
says...
4:59pm Sat 1 Sep 12
The Fibbing Bar Tender
says...
12:18am Sun 2 Sep 12
It's the best place I've ever lived.
I'm hoping to meet Sir Kevin to thank him personally for his brilliance.
LordAshOfTheBrake
says...
7:29am Sun 2 Sep 12
Hmmmm, So the house was either not built properly or not completed.
Quote "“Some people complained about the quality of the paintwork. The housing association have given everyone the option to have it redecorated or to have a B&Q card for £400 towards redecorating. They have re-done our kitchen worktops and flooring. The shed, which was coming apart, has also been re-done."
Hardly acceptable quality was it. These aren't minor teething issues. I wonder what the amount spent per home actually is fixing all these issues.
They may well be nice houses, it may well be a nice place to live, but if the quality isn't there at the start the chances are it never will be. I suspect that over the next few years, we'll see more and more stories about how things are not right or failing.
Bimbosforjustice
says...
7:29am Sun 2 Sep 12
It's a shame we don't have the other development planned for the Pickards site. The likes of 'Councillor' Des Moffatt have out a stop to that. Intent on keeping this town in 1974 we must endure an empty wasteland instead.
The bottom line is we need these houses. These sorts of houses. By Moffatt objecting all he does is move the problem elsewhere... To green field sites expanding the town further.
A real shame Moffatt. A real shame
eucalyptus
says...
8:14am Sun 2 Sep 12
The Fibbing Bar Tender
says...
10:17am Sun 2 Sep 12
We could furnish it with love
Ringer
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10:32am Sun 2 Sep 12
fedupagain
says...
11:30am Sun 2 Sep 12
It is a pity that have the problems caused for surrounding properties have not been resolved as swiftly and that the access road to the four bed properties and surrounding garages is still waiting to be restored to its former standard.
Is Councillor Moffatt so wrong for wanting to stop such a fiasco happening in other parts of Swindon? - I and many more think not!
swindon_mini
says...
12:51pm Sun 2 Sep 12
Her last bill, which arrived in June, was £150. “It has halved. I don’t know about everyone else, but ours has gone down,” she said."
Thats funny, my June Bill is normally half of my October Bill as well. Might be something to do with the weather? lol
HadMySay
says...
2:40pm Sun 2 Sep 12
fedupagain wrote:Actually, HAB and Kevin are still very much involved and seen here quite frequently.
Shame this houses were not the 'great way forward' some z list celebrity promised. No sign of him now things are wrong - what a surprise!
It is a pity that have the problems caused for surrounding properties have not been resolved as swiftly and that the access road to the four bed properties and surrounding garages is still waiting to be restored to its former standard.
Is Councillor Moffatt so wrong for wanting to stop such a fiasco happening in other parts of Swindon? - I and many more think not!
As for Moffatt, It's a shame he is an airy fairy idealist and not a realist. I think he will struggle to get any votes from our community after he's so openly objected to us being here.
HadMySay
says...
2:40pm Sun 2 Sep 12
fedupagain wrote:Actually, HAB and Kevin are still very much involved and seen here quite frequently.
Shame this houses were not the 'great way forward' some z list celebrity promised. No sign of him now things are wrong - what a surprise!
It is a pity that have the problems caused for surrounding properties have not been resolved as swiftly and that the access road to the four bed properties and surrounding garages is still waiting to be restored to its former standard.
Is Councillor Moffatt so wrong for wanting to stop such a fiasco happening in other parts of Swindon? - I and many more think not!
As for Moffatt, It's a shame he is an airy fairy idealist and not a realist. I think he will struggle to get any votes from our community after he's so openly objected to us being here.
Constant81
says...
8:56pm Sun 2 Sep 12
Worked Hard
says...
9:05pm Sun 2 Sep 12
Constant81
says...
9:17pm Sun 2 Sep 12
Constant81
says...
9:19pm Sun 2 Sep 12
LordAshOfTheBrake
says...
8:15am Mon 3 Sep 12
Did the building inspectors sign the houses off?
In my experience you normally use a bit more than glue to secure a staircase, so if that is how they fixed the stairs, I'd be really concerned!
Constant81
says...
8:59am Mon 3 Sep 12
Robh
says...
11:14am Mon 3 Sep 12
We even had to have the house re-roofed because the roofer did not have the necessary training. In general the buildng was specified correctly but the sub-contractors were eiher not skilled enough or simply cowboys not doing the job correctly to save money.
I think this development had suffered the same problems of poor workmanship by either unskilled labour or tradesmen who simply didn't do the job properly.
HadMySay says...
10:46am Sat 1 Sep 12
It is a shame that the community Residents Association have had to fight relentlessly for this work to happen. However, it is happening now and is starting to make a big difference for the residents.