Lostock Hall residents claim their Morris Homes estate is plagued by flooding, road and kerb issues

Frustrated residents claim they have been waiting around three years for maintenance work at their housing development.
By Laura Longworth
Published 10th Aug 2020, 12:30 BST
Updated 14th Aug 2020, 15:40 BST
A group of residents claim that Morris Homes has left work undone in St Jamess Field in Wateringpool Lane, Lostock Hall, for three years.A group of residents claim that Morris Homes has left work undone in St Jamess Field in Wateringpool Lane, Lostock Hall, for three years.
A group of residents claim that Morris Homes has left work undone in St Jamess Field in Wateringpool Lane, Lostock Hall, for three years.

The group of home-owners says that Morris Homes claimed it would lay road asphalt in St James’s Field in Wateringpool Lane, Lostock Hall, after the last property was built.

But Kathryn Lumb, of Central Park Road, says she now feels forgotten about as the company has not put down asphalt or weeded regularly before starting new work on the St Mary’s Development in Penwortham.

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Others residents also claim that the deep kerbs have damaged vehicles while others say they have had no help with flooding issues.

The residents claim that vehicles have been damaged due to road irregularities.The residents claim that vehicles have been damaged due to road irregularities.
The residents claim that vehicles have been damaged due to road irregularities.

Kathryn, 31, who moved into the area in April 2017, said: “It’s beyond a joke now. They’re taking advantage. It’s like we’ve been abandoned. They’re not interested now that they have our money.

“They brand themselves on being a reputable company but they can’t even give us a timescale for the work to be completed. We want an actual date when it’s going to be done. The estate looks a mess as they fail to weed it regularly. We all pay a maintenance charge of circa £180 per year to Morris Homes each month for nothing to be done.”

Joanne Shaw, who moved on to the estate in December 2017, claims her car has been damaged by an unsurfaced road, and she and fellow neighbour Pete Eccles say they were forced to spend a lot of money on extra drainage and re-turfing their gardens after receiving no help with flooding issues.

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And fellow resident Julie Kilner says she has been left frustrated that she cannot buy the lease on her property, when others were able to.

They add that the kerbs are too deep and the estate is not weeded regularly.They add that the kerbs are too deep and the estate is not weeded regularly.
They add that the kerbs are too deep and the estate is not weeded regularly.

A Morris Homes spokesperson says the company aims to finish the work soon.

They added: “We are currently in the process of finalising the technical approval of some off-site works to this development, which have unfortunately delayed the final surfacing. We hope to be in a position to resolve this in the near future. These works affect part of the public open spaces but the majority of this is being regularly maintained. We can confirm that given the situation we have not been charging the residents any management fees.”

Related topics:Morris HomesPenwortham

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