Justin Lee Anderson is fighting to change planning laws after he spent three years sorting problems in his new home – which included heating hooked up backwards
A dad-of-five has told of his shock after a Costa coffee cup was used to plug a hole in the wall of his dream home.
Justin Lee Anderson found the cup wedged into the wall of his £270,000 house and says he spent three years getting a list of faults fixed at the new build in Wallyford, East Lothian, Scotland. The author, who bought the home from Persimmon in 2019, said: “I couldn’t believe how bad our experience was. We literally had a Costa coffee cup sticking out of a hole in our wall.”
He added: “Our heating was hooked up backwards, so that the upstairs thermostat was controlling downstairs and vice versa. Our bathroom extractor fan is connected to a tube that’s literally just hung on a screw in our attic – it doesn’t go anywhere!
“I’ve heard horror stories from so many neighbours. Loads have similar problems of extractor fans venting into their attics. One house has had a section of render just fall off. We even heard from a former Persimmon employee that the company refer to our development as a ‘failed estate’ because of all the complaints.”
Mr Anderson described the whole ordeal as a “terrible experience” and after discovering his was far from isolated on the new estate, he joined the tenants and residents association as the vice-chair. He said he wants local authority planning committees to have the right to reject applications from builders who have failed to produce good-quality houses in the past.
Mr Anderson said: “Planning committees can’t legally refuse a planning application from a builder as long as that application meets regulations. There is no consideration of the builder’s record of competence. So they can build as many terrible houses as they like and keep getting planning permission for more.”
And he is calling on the Scottish Government to establish a housing ombudsman to give homeowners the right to demand higher standards and ensure that developers face consequences when they fail to get it right. The motion to support the urgent creation of a housebuilding ombudsman and to give planning committees the right to reject planning applications from builders with a poor quality record is now part of Scottish Greens policy.
Musselburgh councillor Shona McIntosh, of the Scottish Green Party, said: “There need to be better protections for home buyers and the Scottish Government must get on and work with the UK government to set up an ombudsman as an urgent first step.” Mr Anderson added: “I sincerely hope we can get this on the books.”
Persimmon said that it was ‘disappointed’ to hear about Justin’s experience with his home, which he moved into in 2019. A spokesperson said: “We are disappointed that Mr Anderson did not receive the level of service we strive to provide and we apologise for the inconvenience he experienced.
“While we have not been made aware of any issues with the property since 2022, we are committed to addressing any concerns brought to our attention.”
