Ashberry Homes at Calderwood, EH53

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

Ashberry have a total disregard for local residents. They break planning rules and never get back to you. Cannot find a site manager every time we go on site. Even the council cannot get hold of them. They just don’t care.

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

I would have sold and left if I had know. This company have such a disregard for the community.

What is the best feature of your home:

Don’t go anywhere near an Ashberry development. There is never a site manager available so who is supervising the build quality.

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

Calderwood is a lovely community where everyone looks out for each other. Lots of parking around our estate and a good bus service. Not a far walk from Kirknewton trainstation and a short walk to 2 local pubs The Grapes and Fork and Field with a longer walk along to Bridge Inn. There are plans for a local shop and pub to be built in Calderwood which it badly needs alongside a local childcare facility. The new primary school is state of the art and brings the community together

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

I wish we had organised our carpets and flooring as part of the build as it slowed down our entry date

What is the best feature of your home:

The size of the bedrooms is the best feature! Most new builds we looked at had small rooms but ours has 4 double rooms which sold this type of house to us.

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

The nearest shops are on East Calder Main Street at present, which is approx. 1 to 1.5 miles away. There are plans to build a small shopping/restaurant area within Calderwood itself located near the new Primary School. There are loads of open spaces with Almondell Country park on our doorstep and multiple ways to access the park. The x27 Lothian and Country bus now comes into Calderwood itself which gives easy access to Livingston and Edinburgh, as well as a mobility Hub near the primary school with plans for smaller hub being set up around Calderwood. It is a very quiet area (except for the ongoing construction) and I have not witnessed any anti-social behaviour with many young families living in the area, bins are collected regularly and on the days advised with little or no disruption experienced. Due to the continued construction the roads can be very dirty although efforts are made to keep this to a minimum with water trucks cleaning the streets on a daily basis.

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

As Calderwood is a new development it is always evolving and the plans changing, initially we were advised there would be a footpath on the other side of our fence, this is now a road. At present it is quiet but this could change in the future as more homes are built. I would advising looking at the Calderwood site and not just the site of the developer from whom you are buying your home.

What is the best feature of your home:

In regards to location, our our home is in a group of 4 houses facing each other in the middle of our Development which gives us greater space and no through traffic giving us peace and privacy. As for the home itself, we love the open plan living room/dining room which gives us lots of room to entertain.

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

Local Amenities which have been taken over by WLC are good - bin collections on time, external waste bin are available and empties regularly. Calderwood Community Services facilities are somewhat lacking so far, however we are only part way handed over as our estate is not completed. Ashberry / CCS deal with shared area maintenance and planting, to a good standard. Gritting is better this year, however I’m not sure who manages this. Public Transport has improved greatly since Lothian Buses extended the X27 service through Calderwood Village. Services are regular and on time. We are lacking local amenities such as shop / pub / restaurant at present but this is in development and will take time. East Calder village is only 1 mile away.

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

Make a comprehensive snagging list and take note of how quickly things are rectified. Speak to Your neighbours, get a community set up and have a shared interest in your development. Stay on the good side of contractors!

What is the best feature of your home:

Our porch! And the large garage. We also enjoy the well appointed main and second bedrooms and our south east facing garden.