Fulwood resident in dispute with Morris Homes over cracking paving in car park

Noel Morgan of Danvers Way says the block paving by Morris Homes at an estate built in 2007 is a mess.

He says it is an example of “poor workmanship” and has been involved in a long battle to get the company to fix it.

“We noticed the block paving was starting to erode back in 2013,” said Neil, of the car park which affects 10 householders on the road.

“They sent out a technical manager and he agreed that it was faulty. He went back to Morris Homes and made an offer to fix it but they didn’t take it up and I’ve been battling Morris Homes for years now.

“It is poor workmanship and it’s gradually getting worse and worse.

“We have got water seeping up, it’s just horrendous. It just seems that Morris Homes thinks it will just go away.

“They say it’s out of our two year warranty but a warranty doesn’t apply to poor workmanship.

“We had to pay a structural engineer who put together a 46-page report which basically said it was poor workmanship.

“The paving should last 25 years before maintenance is required.”

A spokesman from Morris Homes said: “Following contact from The Rt Hon Ben Wallace MP, we advised of a potential recourse for the homeowners through the NHBC who are the Warranty provider. The most recent correspondence on this matter in May 2018 suggested that this was being followed up directly with them.”

In a report by an expert witness presented to Preston Combined Court on behalf of residents in 2016 an engineer and surveyor wrote that “the defects found to the car park are clearly indicative of a failed surfacing and is insufficient for the purposes of provide a safe medium for traverse vehicles.”

The report went on: “The cause of the failure is apparent to be inadequate construction thickness of the carriageway construction.

“The remedial solution to the defective carriageway construction is the excavation of the carriageway and re-construction.”

In 2018 Preston North MP Ben Wallace contacted Morris Homes to carry out repairs but to no avail.

Now Preston City Council coun Stuart Greenhalgh has also thrown his weight behind Noel’s plight.

He said: “Mr Morgan is at his wits end. I strongly believe that Morris Homes have an obligation to repair or replace faulty goods and workmanship.”