We have good news.  Taylor Wimpey has appointed Shannonside Civil Engineering Ltd as the contractors who will complete our road surfaces.  They have been delivering letters to residents on Herdwick Fold advising dates when work will begin.

Final remedial works will begin over the coming weeks.  This will include replacing damaged kerbs and edgings, raising iron works, resurfacing footpaths and roads, and providing the final road surface.

Access to and from your property may be restricted between 08.00 and 17.00 during these works but Shannonside workers will assist residents with any access requirements.

Road surfacing work will take place in four stages, as outlined on the plan below.

Stage 1: Barrett Place (red) - starts 23rd May 2025

Stage 2: Bradley Drive and Nichols Court (blue) - starts 20th June 2025

Stage 3: From 34 to 55 Nason Way (yellow) - starts 25th July 2025

Stage 4: Nason Way from Campden Road to junction with Barrett Place (green) - starts 22nd August 2025

Please note that the above dates are subject to change where work is disrupted due to events outside Shannonside’s control, for example adverse weather conditions.

Let’s do all we can to enable Shannonside to complete the work by keeping roads and footpaths clear at the designated times.  We may finally be about to get our roads and pavements finished!  We should have a party when it’s all done.

If you have any comments on this story, or if you have any questions about the planned works please drop us line.  You can contact us here.

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Since our last report the Residents Association committee has been trying to get Taylor Wimpey (TW) to engage with us and share what information they have on a range of issues affecting the Herdwick Gate and Herdwick Fold developments. 

Their response has been tardy and lacking in detail, but finally we have some news we can share about the roads and pavements on the Herdwick Fold development.  Other important issues will be covered in separate articles to be published shortly.

Ongoing discussions

TW apologised for the delay in responding.  They told us they have been in discussions with Warwickshire County Council (WCC) and United Living to resolve matters regarding the roads.  United Living are responsible for the roads on the Shepherd’s Gate development (Orbit), which join Nason Way.  There have been issues where the two developments meet at the junction of Hands Place and Nason Way.

The Section 38 agreement between WCC and TW is progressing and is expected to be finalised shortly.  This agreement is required before TW can carry out the final road works.  It’s been a difficult process, made more complicated by the need for TW and United Living to work together and agree who needs to do what where their respective roads meet.

Manhole remedials start 21st April 2025

The Section 104 agreement for Severn Trent to adopt sewers is in place and manhole remedials are due to start on Monday 21st April.  This should take up to two weeks to complete.

Road remedials expected May 2025

TW tell us that as far as final road works are concerned they have already gone through the tendering process and they have chosen a contractor to do the work.  It is their intention to start these road works in early May 2025 on a road by road basis, as the manhole remedials are completed.

United Living must complete some remedial works to the left hand junction of Hands Place, for the TW road to tie in to.  See image.

This is a pre-requisite for TW works to go ahead in that area.  So TW intends to start from the rear of the Herdwick Fold development working towards Campden Road.  This should give United Living sufficient time to complete their work.

TW’s contractor will complete all back edgings and kerbs as stage one of the planned road works, and once WCC are happy with this the road topping can be scheduled. 

You may have noticed over recent days that some of our pavements and kerbstones have been sprayed with blue paint in anticipation of this work.

The short footpath connecting Bradley Drive to Campden Road should disappear as part of these works, with the area being landscaped.  See image.

Access to the highway

The contractor will complete a letter drop to all residents before works commence and they will be requesting your support to enable access to all areas of the highway so that road surfacing work is not held up.  Residents may need to identify temporary alternative parking spots for vehicles.

Adoption of roads by WCC

Once all road works are completed WCC will check that the required standards have been met.  Assuming they do meet the required standards the clock starts ticking on a 12 month transition period, following which the council will fully adopt the roads and pavements providing that no issues have emerged.

The long and bumpy road

At long last, it would appear as if we are on the cusp of getting the roads and pavements on Herdwick Fold finished.  It’s worth bearing in mind that the first homes were sold back in 2019, so some residents have been waiting for this for almost six years. 

It’s been a long and bumpy road getting to this point!  But TW tell us they have got their resources lined up and we must hope that United Living do their bit at the Hands Place junction. 

Who knows, maybe we will have smooth roads by the summer!

If you have any comments on this story, or if you have any questions about the planned works please drop us line.  You can contact us here.

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Your committee had a meeting with Trinity on 11th February 2025 and we have exchanged a number of emails over recent months.  We have been discussing the service they will be providing when they assume responsibility for maintaining the Public Open Spaces (POS) on our developments.

Whilst they won’t be taking on this responsibility for some time we wanted to establish a relationship and understand how things will work.  This report sets out what we have learned so far in terms of adoption of the POS and how maintenance payments will be worked out.

About Trinity

To give them their full name: Trinity (Estates) Property Management Limited.  (Company Number 03853617).  Part of the Trinity Property Group Limited, they are based in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire.

Trinity are the designated ‘Management Company” for both Herdwick Gate and Herdwick Fold developments, as set out in the transfer documents we all signed when we bought our homes.

When will Trinity take over?

It is too early to say.  All POS must be of an acceptable standard before Trinity will take over maintenance from Taylor Wimpey, and right now there is plenty of remedial work to be done before this can happen.  For example trees and shrubs are deficient and the gravel pathways are in a terrible condition.

Best estimates at this stage would be that Trinity could potentially adopt Herdwick Gate POS by late summer 2025.  Herdwick Fold POS is unlikely to be adopted in 2025 due to the number of issues that need to be resolved.

What will Trinity do when they take over?

Each development will be managed separately.  A maintenance schedule will be produced setting out exactly what work will be done.

This will cover things like maintenance of the POS including the green landscape, play area and attenuation basin.  For Herdwick Gate only it will also include maintenance of the bricked roads.  On top of that they will arrange things like Public Liability Insurance, any inspections required and other administrative and management tasks.

A Trinity manager will conduct a site visit every eight weeks and we will be notified when this is so we can speak with them.  Play areas will be inspected every six months.  The attenuation basins will be maintained twice a year.  General landscaping maintenance is normally 21 visits a year.

It’s important to note that roads and pavements will not be maintained by Trinity.  These will eventually be adopted by Warwickshire County Council.

How much will Trinity charge?

The estimated cost of all required work will be set out in an annual budget and the total amount will be divided equally by the number of properties on the development.

For example, we have seen a budget that was drawn up for Herdwick Fold which was intended to give prospective home buyers an indication of costs.  Back then the total annual estimated cost was £27,157.  Divided by 143 properties this worked out at about £190 per household per annum, or around £16 per month.  That was a few years ago so clearly the cost will have increased.

When will residents start to pay?

Right now any maintenance activity you see is organised by Taylor Wimpey and they pay for this, not residents.

At some stage our POS will be inspected by Stratford District Council (SDC) to ensure it meets the required standards.  We are nowhere near this happening as many issues remain which Taylor Wimpey needs to put right.

But in future when SDC signs it off as ready for adoption Taylor Wimpey will transfer title of the land over to Trinity and at this point Trinity becomes responsible for maintenance.

Normally this is the point at which residents would expect to start paying for maintenance.  However in the case of both developments there is an unusual legal agreement in place that should defer the start of these payments for a period of seven years.  This is the Section 106 Agreement.

The Section 106 Agreement

To discover more about this please refer to our earlier report, which explains the situation in detail.

The latest news we have is that Taylor Wimpey appear to be questioning the wording of this agreement.  We are in touch with SDC to ensure that nothing happens which will result in residents being disadvantaged.

What input will residents have in relation to the maintenance service?

Trinity will set up a management team for each development.  The Residents Association Committee will have a seat at the table to represent all residents, but if you are especially keen to have your say you can also ask to be there in your own right.

Trinity have the final decision on matters however they have said they will listen to residents.  For example, when Trinity are tendering for businesses to do on site works, they would consider suggestions from us for local suppliers who meet their procurement standards.

Can we remove them if they do a bad job?

In theory yes we can, but it would be a last resort as it would be a complicated matter.

According to the legal documents we all signed when we bought our houses, if a majority of residents decide they wish to remove Trinity there is a way of doing this.  In reality we would want to work closely with Trinity to ensure standards are maintained and to resolve any issues as they arise.

The Residents Association Committee will continue to keep in touch with Trinity to ensure we are kept up to speed on the work to transfer responsibility for maintenance over to them.

If you have any comments on current maintenance work, or if you have any questions about how maintenance under Trinity will work please drop us line.  You can contact us here.

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Your committee has had meetings and numerous email exchanges with Taylor Wimpy Midlands (TW) over recent months regarding a number of issues that are important to residents.  We have been dealing with the Technical Director, the Adoptions Manager and other senior professionals at TW.

In this report we update you on where we are with roads and pavements, landscaping and surface water drainage issues.

Roads & Pavements - Herdwick Gate

On Herdwick Gate the roads and pavements were surfaced some time ago and residents want to know when they will be adopted by Warwickshire County Council (WCC). 

There has been some recent work to the gulleys on Webb Road to improve drainage and this needs to be checked and signed off.  We will then be at a stage where the 12 month transition period starts for the adoption by WCC.  Following this period providing no issues emerge the council will finally assume responsibility for maintaining the roads and pavements. 

It’s feasible that the clock could start ticking on the transition period this summer, meaning adoption could happen in 2026.  We continue to monitor the situation.

Roads & Pavements - Herdwick Fold

On Herdwick Fold progress is painfully slow on getting our roads and pavements done.  We are nowhere near adoption. 

There are three main parties involved in this ongoing saga:

• WCC Planning;
• Taylor Wimpey, and
• United Living (the neighbouring Orbit/Shepherd’s Gate development)

The RA Committee has been working hard to discover what is holding up progress: it’s complicated.  Something went wrong with the construction of the junction where Hands Place joins Nason Way (see image above) and this needs to be fixed by United Living. 

Before this remedial work can begin revised technical drawings and plans are required and these have to be approved by WCC.  This paperwork is in hand but no work can begin until it’s finalised.  Only after this junction has been fixed can Taylor Wimpey then get to work on finishing off all our roads and pavements. 

We are frustrated at the glacial pace at which progress is being made.  It is impossible to pin anyone down to a timescale.  Given the dangerous state of our roads and pavements we have asked our Stratford District Councillor, Dave Passingham if he will raise our health and safety concerns with the authorities.

The Committee continues to press all parties to move with more urgency and we are in regular contact with them to monitor progress.

Landscaping

It is acknowledged by Taylor Wimpey that the planting of trees and shrubs on both sites is not up to standard, so they have organised remedial works.  On Herdwick Gate a company called Benchmark has recently planted 34 new trees and on Herdwick Fold it’s Shines Environment that are doing the work.  See image below.

The Committee plans to conduct an audit of both sites in the Spring, so if you would like to join us as we walk round our Public Open Spaces to check the standard of the work, please get in touch. 

We hope that everything will be fine but if not we will submit a report to Taylor Wimpey setting out any problems identified.  We will press for any shortcomings to be promptly addressed.

Surface Water Drainage

We have serious concerns about the way in which both developments are adversely affected by surface water drainage. 

Whilst we are aware that Taylor Wimpey have addressed some specific issues in a few locations on Herdwick Gate, we believe significantly more work is required to mitigate flooding risks on both developments.

We have highlighted the terrible state of the Breedon gravel footpaths on both sites, caused by surface water erosion.  See image above from Herdwick Gate. We have asked Taylor Wimpey to come up with a solution that is more resilient.

In the north-west corner of the Herdwick Fold development, adjacent to the Cala Homes development, (see image above), and along the western boundary drainage is very poor leading to standing pools of water on footpaths and grassed areas.  

Above: The Herdwick Fold Lido.  (Now filled in).

We have asked for an on-site meeting with Taylor Wimpey so that we can go through our concerns in detail.

If you are personally affected by any of the issues mentioned here and you have not already been in touch with us, please tell us your story so that we can make sure Taylor Wimpey are aware.  Contact Us

Coming up tomorrow, we report on our recent meeting with Trinity where we discussed how they will take over maintenance of our two developments.  We also cover the question of the Section 106 Agreement and the clause that obliges Taylor Wimpey to pay Trinity for the first seven years maintenance costs. 

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Here is our report on the Residents Association General Meeting held at The Hub on 20th February 2025.

It was our third such meeting since we formed the Association back in the summer of 2024.  It was well attended despite the inclement weather and various winter bugs going round.

The minutes of the meeting can be found on this website. See the 'Information' tab at the top of the page.

There is a lot to digest so we will be breaking it down in to a couple of updates on this website.  Please check the news section over the coming days.  The first report, (click here), will focus on our recent discussions with Taylor Wimpey about roads, landscaping and surface water drainage issues.

A note for your diary: the next General Meeting will be held on Thursday 3rd July 2025 starting at 18.30.

New residents

We are aware of a few people who have recently moved in and we extend a warm welcome to them.

If you have a new neighbour and they don’t already know about the Residents Association please point them in our direction.  If they wish to receive email updates from us they can submit a request via our website.

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Stratford District Council and Warwick District Council are holding a joint public consultation on where new homes should be built.  They are inviting residents to have their say.  If you want to respond please read on to find out how.

Here is a link to the consultation website: Click here 

To be clear this is not at the stage of an actual planning application; it’s about identifying potential sites in the area where planning applications could be submitted in future.

No matter where you stand on the building of new homes - and let’s face it we all live in new homes - the numbers being suggested here are mind-boggling and some of the locations appear ill-suited to development.

A local group has been established to oppose over-development in the area and they are asking local people to send in their objections.  The group is called Save Our Shipston. 

If you think they have got a point please read their guidance below on how residents might want to frame a response to this consultation.  It's not the most user friendly consultation website so you might find their step by step guide useful.

The deadline for submissions is 7th March 2025.

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