Our gardens are unusable swamps: Furious new-build estate residents say their back yards have been muddy quagmires for two years due to lack of drainage

Residents on a newbuild estate have criticised a housing association after their gardens were turned into 'swamps' and left unusable for two years.

Locals living on Wilmot Road, in the Malinslee area of Telford, Shropshire say their back yards have been left a 'muddy quagmire' due to a lack of any drainage.

Jayne Peate, 63, moved into her family home with her two grown up sons and 11-year-old foster child in April 2022 - but has never been able to use her garden.

The foster carer said: 'It is a lovely house with a really beautiful garden but we just can't use it. It is a muddy quagmire.

'We get around two weeks in the summer when it is dry enough to stand on, the rest of the time it is just a mud pit.

'There were billed as family homes with gardens but none of the families in this row are able to use their gardens - they are all the same.

'There is not drainage here and its just soil and clay underneath so the water just sits there.'

Jayne said she's had to pay more than £1,200 for a new patio and fence as well as forking out more than £1,000 on new flooring and carpets.

She added: 'It has made things so much better but I shouldn't have had to pay for all this.

'We had the patio just so we had somewhere in the garden that we could use but I needed new carpets with the dogs traipsing in mug constantly and ruining them.

'And what about the other families on this row? There are people here whose children have to play in the street because their garden is unusable. It is just not acceptable.'

She said that she pays £1,014 month in rent to housing association Nuplace, the housing company owned by Telford & Wrekin Council, which built the property.

Jayne added: 'I have spoken to the leader of the council Shaun Davies so many times and have been on to Nuplace but they have not sorted it.

'They've since put the rent up but I am paying for a family home with a garden that I can't use.

'We tried contacting councillors and Lovells, who built the homes, but nobody seems to want anything to do with it and nothing gets done.'

Emma Bowen who also lives on Wilmot Road with her husband and three children aged four, seven and nine, said they too have been unable to use their garden for most of the time they have lived there. She said: 'It is really frustrating.

'We have been here for two years and to start with we were able to use the garden but it just got worse and worse. It is now completely unusable.

'My youngest loves playing outside but we can't let him use the garden as he just gets covered in mud.

'It causes him to have tantrums. We have reported it so many times to Nuplace but nothing is being done.'

In total, eight families on Wilmot Road say their garden was unusable with the turf sodden and waterlogged throughout all of the year.

Another resident, who did not want to be named, said: 'Our gardens are like swamps, we can't use them and it's all down to shoddy workmanship.

'The developers or the housing association need to take some responsibility and get it sorted.

'They looked lush to start with but after the first bit of rain they were pretty much ruined.

'We just want to be able to enjoy our gardens rather than living in conditions which wouldn't be out of place on a pig farm.'

Nuplace said it was working to address the issues raised by Wilmot Road residents.

James Dunn, Nuplace Director said: 'Tenant satisfaction is a key priority for Nuplace, and we'd like to reassure tenants that we are working to address the issues which have been raised.

'While we remain committed to the work that needs to be carried out, the remedial works outstanding are heavily affected by the unprecedented wet weather we are currently experiencing.

'Nuplace will continue to liaise with all tenants on an individual basis around the timescales of the work that will be carried out in due course.'