‘It’s disgraceful’: Residents at new housing estate in Northampton slam developer over ‘HUGE’ billboard, roadworks, and 'badly managed' site

Frustrated homeowners at the new Western Gate housing estate, which sits between Harpole and Duston, say they feel “forgotten about” as unfinished works, lack of communication and a ‘giant’ billboard have left them angry and disillusioned.

One resident told the Chronicle & Echo: “There’s loads of roadworks now going on since July to add an additional lane out the front of the estate. The communication just isn’t there from the developer [Vistry Group]. We’ve had no notifications about the road being done, no traffic lights. They only seem to work on Saturday mornings until lunchtime to try and get this road done. It’s just a huge disturbance. It just isn’t running very well at all.”

Another major source of frustration is the sudden erection of a massive five-metre by six-metre marketing billboard which appears to have been erected so it catches the eye of drivers on the recently opened Sandy Lane Relief Road.

In a Facebook post, a resident wrote: “Vistry have spontaneously decided that the perfect cash cow for advertising is the new relief road and have began to erect a huge advertising billboard right next to the properties off Rowan Close. They have done this without care or consideration for those who are living in these properties, the sign mere metres from the boundaries of some houses.

“The answer some of us received when immediately questioning their decision for choosing this position by lived in homes was ‘it’s our land we can do what we want’. This blasé attitude only goes to show that once they have your money and you’re moved in, they simply don’t care.”

But beyond the roadworks and billboard, residents also raised concerns about the general upkeep of the estate. One said: “The communal areas have just been left and abandoned, they’re covered in weeds. They just haven’t looked after it at all.

“It’s a great site, a lovely place to live if it was all finished and looked right. But it seems all they’re interested about is building the new houses and not actually finishing off what they started. They just don’t care, basically. We’ve moved in, they’ve had our money and they don’t care.”

The homeowner added: “If you look at Vistry’s Collingtree estate, then you look at the Western Gate entrance, they are chalk and cheese. It just looks disgraceful to us. Instead of finishing things properly, they just keep pushing on with the new builds. Residents feel like they’ve been forgotten about.”

A Vistry Group spokesperson said: “Vistry Group is committed to maintaining high standards across all our developments. At Western Gate, scheduled maintenance works including weed treatment were carried out at the end of August and we are following up with our contractors to ensure progress continues.

“Fencing repairs have been completed where reported, and any further issues will be addressed. Roadworks at the entrance are progressing, with completion expected by the end of October, which will significantly improve the site’s appearance.

“Driveways and footpaths will be finished in line with the approved sequence of works to ensure long-term durability. We are also reviewing the site and its public open spaces and will provide residents with an update once this is complete.

"The marketing sign will be removed by the end of the week.”