Barley Gate, DH3

Please tell us about the good and bad aspects of living in your local area:

Great transport links, low traffic noise, close to local bars and restaurants. Short distance to local shops.

How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:

Mostly completed in a timely fashion but still dealing with issues from 18 months ago

Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:

Not to expect roads and pavements to be completed with any urgency.

Please tell us about the good and bad aspects of living in your local area:

Chester-le-street is very close which has all required facilities as does Washington in the opposite direction.

How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:

Good. A fast response from Avant customer services. The Subcontractor response time is ok, could be better with some taking over a week to respond.

Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:

I moved in at a very late stage on the development and I'm local to the area so there were no real surprises before I moved in.

Please tell us about the good and bad aspects of living in your local area:

Good are with local shops and facilities in 10 min. Parking availability and bin collection outside the home.

Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:

Availability of other homes in the area.

What is the best feature of your home:

The design and the garden are fab but the bedrooms could have been larger.

Please tell us about the good and bad aspects of living in your local area:

The are is close (10 min) to local shops, restaurants, bars & open spaces. There is allocated parking space, bin collections, no anti-social behavior but lots of traffic noise.

Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:

Construction site next to our property

What is the best feature of your home:

Construction-Italian Style-Garden-Neighborhood-Shops near by

Please tell us about the good and bad aspects of living in your local area:

There should be more visitor bays/ lay-bys and the location of the development is good for access to the city and local amenities. The bus services are useful and close to the development location. Bin collections are always consistent. We have had an ongoing issue with attempted theft to vehicles throughout the development, however, this has been notified to the local police department. The company that attends to the communal grounds maintenance of the development (Kingston Property Services), do minimal maintenance works in ratio to the annual fee that each property owner pays.

Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:

I was misinformed on the steep gradient of my back garden and poor drainage capability through the retaining wall.

What is the best feature of your home:

Numerous features include; bi-folding doors, rain showers, open plan design, kitchen layout and integrated/ good quality appliances.