Crawford Park, NE24

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

Good plenty of shops nearby asda lidl and aldi pubs only a short distance away and gyms and clubs nearby

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

Don't be pressured into buying and read the small print as this is what gleesons rely on to deny any of your issues

What is the best feature of your home:

It has a roof on but that needs repaired also the quality and workmanship is very poor

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

Blyth is a long dead town, with issues that were conveniently hidden from new buyers during the pandemic. Antisocial behaviour is rife, much of it related to problems with drugs and alcohol. The main road that feeds into the estate (Cowpen Road) is listed as one of the most deprived areas in the North East, with the surrounding estates full of council houses that look as though they should have been condemned long ago! There are shops on the doorstep, however the staff all appear to be typical Blyth residents (i.e. not very intelligent, and incredibly ignorant to boot). The transport links are fine, if you want to take an hour or more to reach the City centre and the like, with a tour of the worst parts of the area thrown in! The spine road in this area is lethal, with accidents and fatalities reported on an almost weekly basis! There are some bars and places to eat, but a visit to the Waterloo is like taking your life in your hands, and that's during the week! I despise this place and everyone in it, and cannot wait to be able to sell my home and move somewhere, anywhere (!) with even a shred more civility than this place. You may get more house for your money in Blyth, but there's a reason for that . . .

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

As stated in other responses (and comments by others) if you have an issue here, you're pretty much on your own. Gleeson will either deny it exists, bodge job to fix it, or just tell you it's your responsibility. They had around 7 different site managers in 18 months, if that tells you anything!

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

Do your research on Blyth. Luckily this estate is on the outskirts, but this area is so deprived it definitely shows. There is constant talk of new jobs, new transport links, regeneration of the town centre, but it will take YEARS for the town to catch up

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

Really enjoy living in Blyth, to have access to stunning coastline, city life, good transport links such as the airport, and mainline rail close by it is a really convenient place to live. My neighbours on the cul de sac have been really good and we all get, there is very little noise from traffic, and council services such as bin collections are always done.

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

It was logged through the portal, and was acknowledged fairly quickly but it did take a long time to get rectified.

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

So i bought my property of plan so wasnt able to see it before i decided to purchase it. so maybe it would be good to have a show home for each type of property.

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

mixed bag really, we think the location is amazing, offering a good level of privacy whilst having multiple shops and schools in close proximity. Surroundings are still developing/under construction, so the final outlook is years away. we had issues with anti-social behaviour which has been sorted out fully by the police and Lidl promptly. we live in a cul de sac area, which we love in general as we enjoy perfect privacy, however our neighbours are continuously taking the mic with parking, using 'shared' areas as they'd be their own land - that's not the development's fault though

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

process was straightforward with prompt replies and phone calls to sort things out

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

be prepared that road surfaces are going to be horrendous for years to come

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

The area is very close to the shops as it’s within walking distance of two small supermarkets, Lidl and Asda. Just down the road is a KFC, Greggs and McDonald’s. We also have local takeaways and restaurants not too far away in the town. It’s just off the main road which leads to the A189 so it’s excellent for commuting in either direction, as there’s only one main road in Blyth it can get congested easily though. Parking can be tough and the roads could be in better repair. Traffic noise is low. Anti social behaviour can be a problem as we are close to the shops. There is a primary school within the estate.

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

The building management were a bit slow to respond at the beginning but ever since they’ve changed their management we’ve had no problems.

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

After we moved in we found out from our new neighbours that there had been antisocial behaviour problems happening around our house. We wish we had been made aware of this before purchase.