Marleigh, CB5

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

Marleigh is very quiet in terms of any noise or disturbances. Good transport links into the city centre.

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

To check around parking.

What is the best feature of your home:

Very energy efficient. Retains heat well. Good design and layout. Lots of light.

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

Great location, just a stone throw away from Cambridge city centre but secluded enough to feel like we live in a small cosy village.

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

Coming from a flat we didn’t quite know how to care about our garden at first but we quickly learned and now it’s our beautiful little oasis full of green grass , shrubs and trees.

What is the best feature of your home:

Spacious garage and garden, excellent thermal insulation, builder fitted solar panels!

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

The local Co-op has finally opened. Nearly three years late. Shortly after opening the cash machine was ram raided. We are still awaiting the king promised Signiorellies cafe bar. Should be anytime soon, but they have been saying that for the last two years …. Reform studio has opened. Making parking more of an issue unfortunately as there is insufficient visitor parking. Likewise school and nursery drop off and pick up. People are asked to use the P&R. Some do, but that will stop when the P&R is relocated further east. Problems daily with contractor parking and people parking on pavements. This gets worse the more houses and flats that are occupied. Handy for bus 3 to the city centre or P&R busses depending on which end of the Marleigh you are located in. Nearby Drs surgery in Barnwell, plus a chip shop ( Barracuda) and a one stop shop. Bin collection is good. ASB is a real problem. Stealing of parcels could be resolved with a drop off locker systems in Jubilee Square. Youths roaming in packs in better weather are worrying. Vandalism and breaking into flats car park and shoplifting etc. Houses are poorly insulated. Can hear everything going on outside even with windows closed. Also poorly insulated. “toilet” noise can be heard throughout.

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

I wish we had known how long we would be living in a building site with thoughtless contractors leaving their engines running right outside our house for hours, the stupid road washing vehicle which makes more mud than it cleans and still drives around when it’s raining. It’s been two years , contractors continue to park dangerously blocking sight lines on corners and up on pavements. Hill needs to lay down some rules.

What is the best feature of your home:

Beautiful light as a result of the large windows. Our back is south facing and we chose this plot for that reason. Choose carefully if buying as some plots have their back garden in shade ALL day.

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

The new Co-Op on site is a welcome addition, but the community square often feels dead with constant broken lights meaning at night it's often under-lit. Day to day contractors are constantly making a mess on the streets, leave tea bags on the curb and muddy-ing the roads. ASB is an increasingly worrying issues with packages stolen. Hill really don't seem to care about the people who have moved in, and are only chasing new sales. The aftercare is poor. Snags are often left for a long time before being address. Home has leaks and IJC as the chosen contractor do not take any responsibility. Green areas planted by Hill's chosen subcontractor is awful. No care is taken, there are weeds everywhere which the Land Trust don't address. More money goes into the community centre (which benefits select people) rather than a site-wide care of open spaces. Roads and pavements are constantly being dug up, despite being laid, showing that there's either poor planning, or something has already broken. Every remedy is done in hindsight. Given we're only 1/4 of the way through the development, I fear the site's quality will go downhill. Ben Page as the site manager isn't doing enough to keep the site up to spec and of a high standard. Andy Ashcroft has to be the least bothered Hill employee in charge of customer relations – unfortunately two individuals that need to take more accountability. Hill hire a road cleaner which actually makes the muddy roads even worse, nothing is ever clean. HILL DOES NOT CARE.

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

There's an additional service charge to pay, which is meant to be for estate management but unfortunately it feels like it's wasted money as nothing is done.

What is the best feature of your home:

The best feature of my home is the amount of windows that allow for plenty of light.

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

The good: vibrant community, good diversity. The bad: the subcontractors that Hill employs are not respectful, cut corners and leave the community areas a mess. They constantly park where there are signs saying 'no subcontractor parking' and they ignore any higher management. Landscaping is poor and flowers planted are lack lustre and uninspiring. Plants are planted without watering by Hill's chosen subcontractor.

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

Hill appear to sell and market their properties to other territories abroad first, before they go on the market in the UK. Meaning that they are not considering the housing problems that the UK is facing. Foreign investors are buying plots up and putting them for for rent instead.

What is the best feature of your home:

Hasn't fallen down yet. Contemporary design. Large windows are a nice touch.