Simple Life at Canal Side, WN6

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

We moved into the Simple life house in January 2021. The location is quite nice and the area is quite peaceful. Public transport is available at stone throw distance. Availability of Farmfoods supermarket and daycare nurseries at a walking distance is a pure bliss.

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

Physical viewing of the development

Please share one thing (or more) which you would change about your development:

Faster resolution of maintenance issues would be really helpful.

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

Area itself isn’t too bad, local corner shop round the corner and a few takeaways close by, good for getting to robin park shopping outlet, decent links to motorways etc. Had trouble with bin collection for about 4 months after moving in, bins were either not collected at all or only a few bins emptied. Other flat residents also seemed to think the bin store was actually a skip and would leave large pieces of furniture in there e.g lamps, tv stands etc. Other tenants also treat the bin shed as a bin itself eg just throw bags of rubbish on the floor instead of putting it in the empty bin right next to them. This was reported to management several times, the rubbish was cleared eventually but the culprits strike again every couple of weeks. In terms of the flat block it self, some residents are lovely, but many are selfish and treat the place like university halls, lots of noise and partying at unsociable hours, smoking drugs at every hour of the day which creates a lovely smell of Canabis on our clean washing drying by the window. Police have been on site several times however nothing seems to have changed. This has again been reported to management but nothing has been done and the behaviour continues to be unacceptable and in breach of the contracts we all signed on moving in.

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

They have either not responded or responded with ‘have the contractors been out yet?’ With no other information given to us, when we replied and said the contractors had not been out yet, we then heard nothing for about 3-4 weeks before the same question being asked again, this situation has repeated itself for 6 months with no solution as of yet.

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

If we’d have know we’d be living in a block of flats with the other selfish tenants that have no respect for their neighbours we would not have moved here. If we had known how bad the management company would be in regards to any complaints or issues we raised, again we would not have moved in We are moving out as soon as we can.

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

Great location. Close to all amenities and I love the view of the canal from my apartment. There is easy access to the city centre, parks, motorways. The surrounding area of my development site has a good layout. However the street is a little narrow which makes it a bit difficult to manoeuvre. I'm guessing this is due to 2 car households as the streets are congested with cars. Many people do not adhere to the speed limit and I have had many near misses. Which is of course not the fault of Simple Life but it is a constant worry as there are children around. I am in the apartment block and it's been quite challenging. Although my neighbours seem nice (in passing) I am constantly having to deal with weed smells (I am unable to keep my windows open), noise, lack of respect when parking (the neighbour next to me tends to go over in to my space making it difficult for me to park my car) and there are a few dogs here too. As with most new builds nowadays the walls are hollow, which makes for an increase in noise. I can hear everything around me. There is also what I think is an issue with how the apartment main door is installed. It pushes and shakes the neighbouring apartments' doors making it extremely noisy when people are going in and out of their apartment. Externally from my apartment the bin area can get quite messy as it seems that some residents don't seem to respectfully dispose of their refuse. However, in the past few days it seems to have been tidier but I'm not sure for how long. The main door for the building is on a very short time release for the locking system which means that the latch is released before the door closes which in turn leaves the door unlocked! I have not received a meter reading since April. Since they are meant to be monthly this isn't acceptable and it has left me having to pay estimated billing. I have been asking for over a month, to no avail.

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

It's been a little hit and miss. The Fixflow service is pretty good. User friendly and easily accessible. However there has been times where there is a disconnect between the contractor and SL, which has left me in the middle trying to sort it all out. Which I assume is not the idea of how Fixflow is meant to work? When is comes to calling SL it's not been great. I have had to make multiple calls to chase, when it really should be the case of one call and then I can trust that SL will get on it. Unfortunately that is not happening at the moment.

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

* As I had to pay a holding fee before the building had been finished that left me locked in to something that I may not have taken, had I'd been able to view * Researching SL website gave me a clear idea on what the company was about and how the community minded they are - it was a great selling point

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

The estate is local to many school, shops and parks. Amazing for walks down the canal or into the town centre. Transport links are very close. No traffic noise can be heard and bin collections good and on time. Many cars on the estate as people don’t park both cars on their dedicated 2 space drives.

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

Once emailed they have responded very quickly to my issue

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

I wish I knew the supermarket was being built behind my house. It will be very convenient but at the minute very loud whilst building

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

The development is well located close to the town centre and local convenience stores. It is also close to the Leeds Liverpool canal and has a development specific park for young children with quality play equipment. This makes the experience for my young family all the better.

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

Since recent building management the changes historic issues are now being dealt with hence the recommendation.

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

It’s good to understand the whole development and it’s proximity to town the new park the canal and local convenience stores which in a post Covid world is really important.