Boggy garden woes for Hartlepool homeowner facing £2,000 bill after drainage problems on new estate

Glen Hughes, 42, of Bishop Cuthbert in Hartlepool has hit out at developers he says did not install any drainage when the house was built.

He said he and his family, including two young children, are unable to enjoy their garden and is like a ‘quagmire’ after rain.

Glen and partner Lisa Hunter, 34, moved into their Persimmon home in Celandine Gardens around five years ago.

He said: “We didn’t really notice anything for the first or second year, but year on year after that it got gradually worse.

"It suddenly dawned on me that all the surrounding houses are higher than mine, so everyone else’s garden is on a slope and feeds into mine.

“I’m having a lot of excess water under the lawn. The kids can’t go out there.

"We’re stuck in the house trying to get outside and it’s a quagmire.”

Glen and Lisa, a primary school teacher, have sons Charlie, aged eight, and toddler William, nearly two.

He says the developers ought to have included drainage connected to the main sewer when the house was first designed.

Because the family only started to experience problems after their warranty had expired the developer is no longer responsible.

Glen, a design and marketing manager, said: "I was told because it was not logged within the first year they can’t do anything about it.

“I’m going to have to sort it out myself.”

A number of other residents on the estate also reported similar problems on a neighbourhood Facebook group.

Glen put a drainage sump in the garden but it soon filled up.

He has now had a quote for £2,000 to dig up the garden and put in several pipes that feed into the main sewer to solve the problem.

A spokesperson for Persimmon Homes said: “We were sorry to hear Mr Hughes started to experience an issue with his garden four years after he moved in in 2016 and that it has occurred again this year.

“As the property is out of warranty we can only advise Mr Hughes to refer to his NHBC warranty or seek independent advice to examine any potential environmental factors and to remedy the situation.”

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