Redrow won’t submit a Section 38 to the council, so they can continue charging maintenance fees

There_Goes_The_Stingray

I live on a Redrow development. For the past five years we’ve been paying ever‑rising maintenance fees to a company called FirstPort, who in turn hire Community Property Care to carry out the general maintenance. Overall it’s little more than a shoddy grass‑cutting service, but that’s a story for another day.

We pay just under £400 a year as a basic fee, on top of any additional charges for extra work or for damage to the street or play‑park area.

Five years ago the area was fairly quiet and sparsely populated. In recent years a new housing estate has been built nearby and a small shopping centre has opened literally metres from the entrance to our street.

This has brought not only a lot more traffic but also people who now use the park, benches and bins, probably unaware that these are not council‑owned but paid for by the residents.

I recently contacted the council to raise these issues and to ask why they had not adopted the street, which is now being used — and in some cases abused — by people who do not live here.

Their reply was: “In this case, the Section 38 Agreement, which would allow the private streets to be adopted by the Highway Authority, was not completed. As a result, the roads remain private and cannot be adopted unless the developer chooses to progress an adoption agreement and can demonstrate that the streets have been constructed fully to adoptable standards. Redrow has previously confirmed that it does not wish to pursue adoption and intends for the streets within [retracted] to remain private.

“Given this position, any concerns relating to areas outside the existing limits of adoption should be directed to the landowner or the appointed management company. This includes requests for the roads to be adopted, as adoption can only proceed where the landowner voluntarily enters into a Section 38 Agreement.”

I don’t take everything the council says at face value — an independent councillor told me they are generally hostile to adopting new developments — but it does seem that Redrow are deliberately not handing over the land because it generates a steady income for them and the contractors they use.

Has anyone had experience persuading Redrow to submit the relevant documentation to the council and free residents from this unfair financial burden?

Also, regarding Section 28, that appears to relate to roads and pavements; I’m not sure whether it covers play parks. Does anyone know whether play parks can be included, as the play park is probably one of the biggest financial drains?

Thanks in advance for any replies.

35har1old

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6664756/redrow-won-t-submit-a-section-38-to-the-council-so-they-can-continue-charging-maintenance-fees

Footpath and road could be handed over and you still might pay maintenance for the grass you mention.

I used to own a property the roads where adopted but still had to pay maintenance for a area planted out in shrubs which I could not see from my property

onthemend

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6664756/redrow-won-t-submit-a-section-38-to-the-council-so-they-can-continue-charging-maintenance-fees

A section 38 agreement is only for a highway, footpaths, highway drains and land within a sight splay at a road junction, it would not include a play park

daveyjp

Make a general enquiry of the council - not development specific - what their policy is on provision of adoptable highways on new housing developments. The see if Redrow are following policy.

Ours has a set policy. Any development of 10 or more units must be served by streets which are built to adoptable standards and will be adopted following completion of the scheme.

Drains are mentioned above. These are usually adopted by the water authority, but only if they are under adopted highways. Streetlights would also be provided and maintained through adoption.

webmasterpolo

First Port have increased my management charges from £500 in 2021 to £1,100 now with a pretty woeful level of grass cutting too. Inflation apparently. Vistry the builder has also delayed getting the road adoption done for over 5 years.

eddddy

There_Goes_The_Stingray said

Has anyone had experience persuading Redrow to submit the relevant documentation to the council and free residents from this unfair financial burden?

When Redrow were originally selling the houses, did they say that they would enter into a Section 38 agreement with the council?

Or did they decide at the outset that they wouldn't enter into a Section 38 agreement, because they didn't want to construct the road to an adoptable standard?

There_Goes_The_Stingray said

This has brought not only a lot more traffic but also people who now use the park, benches and bins, probably unaware that these are not council‑owned but paid for by the residents.

Is there a planning condition in the original Planning Consent saying that the play park must be available to the general public?

If not, you could lobby the Management Company to put up signs around the play park saying something like "Private Play Area for the use of <road name> residents only."

And similarly signs by the road that say "Private Road. Access and parking for residents only."

And see if that helps.

(But the cost of the signs would be added to everyone's maintenance fees.)

GDB2222

I don’t understand the title of this thread. Redrow don’t benefit from the management fees. They don’t own FirstPort. It’s just a slur.

In general, councils are reluctant to adopt roads these days as it costs them money, and they are all short of cash.

There_Goes_The_Stingray

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81968780#Comment_81968780

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81968780#Comment_81968780

Thanks for this — I’ll send an email to the council.

There_Goes_The_Stingray

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81968795#Comment_81968795

Good Lord, that is excessive.

There_Goes_The_Stingray

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81968821#Comment_81968821

We didn’t buy the house brand new from Redrow — it was a private purchase from someone who had lived there for just over a year.

At the time we bought it, the maintenance fees hadn’t yet kicked in; they started a few months later. I can’t remember exactly what the solicitor said about it, probably something along the lines of: “There are maintenance fees, but we don’t yet know how much they’ll be or what level of service will be provided,” and so on.

Thanks for the other information — I’ll look into it.

There_Goes_The_Stingray

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81968843#Comment_81968843

Redrow retain ownership of the land; they simply outsource the maintenance responsibilities to another company, such as FirstPort. Redrow still benefits financially, regardless of whether they carry out the maintenance themselves or pass it on to a contractor.