We’re trapped in a new-build nightmare – our garden is still a mud pit after a YEAR & rubbish is dumped everywhere
A NEW-BUILD homeowner says his unfinished garden has been left abandoned by developers for a year.
Mark McVeigh, 57, bought the four-bed property near St Austell, Cornwall, in September 2023, but now claims the garden is still in a dangerous condition nearly 12 months later.
The retired laboratory technician now says he wishes he never bought the £390,000 home, located on the Devonshire Homes estate at Holmbush.
Mark told Cornwall Live it took six months for developers to take away the large sign on his property and, until recently, their rubbish was left dumped on his land.
This has now been removed, but Mark has complained that he has now just been left with a gaping slope of mud.
He said: “After moving in they have kept saying my rear garden will be finished off.
“After living in the ‘showhome’ they don’t seem to care now we have bought it, even though one of the contractors on site has said it is a health and safety issue and would need fixing.
“He said it wouldn’t take much to make safe, but I have been back and forth to their customer services and all I get is fobbed off.”
Mark says that all the contractors and heavy machinery have now left the site, leaving him frustrated – because the work would have been “easy” with JCBs and trucks around.
He added that the land was still a building site when he and wife Michelle, 51, bought it.
Mark claimed that he told the developer there was no rush, but he became less patient as time went on.
He said: “I think we got pushed and rushed into buying and a lot of what they promised just hasn’t been done.”
Mark says he has now been left with an unfinished and unsafe slope for a garden, and it does not look like the couple would get their money back if they resold it.
The Sun has contacted Devonshire Homes for comment.
Know your rights
ALL new build homes come with some form of warranty.
Most often, this is a builder warranty of around 10 years, against structural issues, and a shorter developer warranty against issues with fixtures and fittings.
Registered builders are bound by a Consumer Code, which sets out quality standards.
If the house is not complete at the time it was promised, the customer can cancel the purchase, with a full refund of any deposit or reservation fee.
Complaints can be resolved privately with builders/developers in the first instance.
However, if you are not satisfied, there is an independent dispute scheme that can be used within the first three months of receiving the final response to the complaint from the builders