“We were delighted to be awarded a five-star rating in the annual HBF survey for the first time in our history and are determined to continue to build on this excellent progress, delivering high quality homes consistently to our customers.”
“Homeowners complain of ‘shoddy’ building work with wonky windows, unlockable doors, mould, cracked walls and freezing rooms. More than 140 residents have now formed an action group to demand Persimmon Homes urgently correct the catalogue of problems plaguing the newbuild estate…”
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How good is Persimmon’s new-building housing?
As far as any public pronouncements are concerned, there are very few opinions on the Woolbrook estate built a decade or so ago at the top of Sidmouth.
Several concerns were voiced beforehand, though: Futures Forum: Persimmon, Sidmouth and “promoting well-designed housing that is sustainable and provides much-needed new housing…”
There has since been speculation on possible increased flooding due to more building upstream – and whether there could have been better attenuation systems put in place: Flooding issues in Sidmouth – Vision Group for Sidmouth and Flooding issues in Sidmouth: part 2 – Vision Group for Sidmouth
Persimmon would like to build more at Woolbrook: ‘Large’ housing allocation for Sidmouth: initial reaction – Vision Group for Sidmouth
In terms of the quality and type of housing, the draft Local Plan has made that clear: Draft Local Plan proposed zero-carbon housing – Vision Group for Sidmouth
However, developers can always plead ‘viability’: Knowle: a failure of promises on affordable housing – Vision Group for Sidmouth
And they will always be prepared to remind us that we ‘need’ new houses – doing a little PR in the process: Persimmon Homes increases funds for community champions | South Wales Guardian and Persimmon Homes in Cornwall donate bricks to college in Truro | Falmouth Packet
Of course it is not possible to determine how ‘good’ the housing will be, should Persimmon be successful in any planning application at Woolbrook.
However, looking at the track record of what the company actually builds, here’s an example from Devon in August 2019
… more than 650 homes built by Persimonn were found to have missing or incorrectly installed fire barriers, including developments in Exeter, Truro and Ivybridge. Some of these issues have not yet been rectified – and some homes have still not been inspected. Residents who have had issues with new homes urged to contact council – Devon Live
These sorts of complaints pushed the company into some sort of action in 2020:
… the company published the results of an independent review it had commissioned on its past failings. If the board was hoping this might draw a line under events, there may be some rather dispirited directors in Persimmon’s boardroom. A litany of failings found by the review showed that, across the country, the company had been building shoddy, and possibly unsafe, homes. Persimmon said it was putting its house in order, but the report concluded that if directors wanted the firm to be “a builder of quality homes” they “should reconsider Persimmon’s purpose and ambition”. This effectively confirmed what critics had long suspected: Persimmon was more interested in building fortunes for directors than homes for customers. Review hammers home problems with Persimmon | Construction industry | The Guardian
And promises were made: Persimmon to strengthen build quality and inspection regime | Scottish Construction Now
In the spring of last year, the company were given recognition by the housing industry:
“We were delighted to be awarded a five-star rating in the annual HBF survey for the first time in our history and are determined to continue to build on this excellent progress, delivering high quality homes consistently to our customers.” Persimmon awarded five-star rating in the annual HBF survey for the first time – DirectorsTalk Interviews
The industry further recognised the company late last year: Weston housing estate rated ‘excellent’ in developer awards | Weston Mercury
However, just to take a few news reports from the last few months, the complaints from those who actually live in the homes are still very much happening: Persimmon Homes fined again | York Press (June 2022) and Residents of new Derbyshire housing estate stuck in faulty and unfinished £500,000 homes – Derbyshire Live (October 2022) and Families go to war with Persimmon over ‘nightmare’ estate – Stoke-on-Trent Live (December 2022)
Furious residents who paid more than £300,000 on homes in a newbuild estate say their lives are a ‘nightmare’ with the properties riddled with hundreds of faults. Homeowners living in Cotswold Vale near Stratford-upon-Avon complain of ‘shoddy’ building work with wonky windows, unlockable doors, mould, cracked walls and freezing rooms. More than 140 residents have now formed an action group to demand Persimmon Homes urgently correct the catalogue of problems plaguing the newbuild estate...
Cotswold Vale residents in ‘newbuild nightmare’ demand Persimmon homes fix HUNDREDS of faults | Daily Mail Online (December 2022)
Finally, there does seem to be a lot of animosity out there towards Persimmon: Persimmon Homes Reviews | Read Customer Service Reviews of www.persimmonhomes.com and Persimmon Homes Reviews – Read 154 Genuine Customer Reviews | www.persimmonhomes.com and (15) DO NOT BUY a Persimmon Home | Facebook
With a longer, considered read here: My Persimmon Homes Review 2021 – 18 months later
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