Landscape like a desert.

Lakelands Estate in Stanway, Colchester, was sold to us with brochures full of promises. Landscaped gardens. Mature trees. Green spaces designed to be enjoyed for generations.

What we got was different. In Reg Hilham Walk they built a public walkway that linked Tollgate Road with Martin Hunt Drive. It became a route for families to navigate to and from Lakelands School and/or the park. It was supposed to have twenty four trees, shrubs and a manicured, well kept lawn. What we got was a graveyard of dead trees, scalped lawn, empty tree pits, broken tree supports, blue string holding up dead trees and a range of safety issues.

We raised it with the property management company. We were told it would be dealt with. It wasn't. We raised it again. We got the same answer. The estate continued to deteriorate and eventually we said; enough.

So we started to research the subject. We wanted to know how this could happen. Why we were paying management fees for such poor workmanship. Eventually, instead of banging our heads repeatedly on a brick wall we knew what to do. We found the Landscape Management Plan. We found the Section 106 agreement. We found the TP1 transfer deed. And we found that the gap between what those documents required and what was being delivered was not a matter of opinion, it was a matter of fact.

We knew our rights. The developer had not adhered to their planning approval. The 'Professional landscape' in Perpetuity' was not being delivered. So went went on the Council Planning website and registered a breach against the developer, Persimmon Homes. Then we put in a formal complaint to the Property management Company. And finally, we asked local councillors to support us, and they did. New Build Reality Check exists because residents deserve to know what those documents say. Because knowledge changes the conversation. Because 'we're working on it' is not good enough when there are legal obligations in place that are not being met.