A GROUP of frustrated Cofton Hackett residents say they ‘feel abandoned’ after being forced to pay ‘appalling’ estate maintenance fees.

Residents living on the East Works estate off Grovelely Lane said they pay £174 a year in maintenance fees to FirstPort, an estate management company, even though issues on the estate haven’t been fixed.

These service fees apply to residents living on private estates to maintain and upkeep services such as private roads, play areas and communal gardens.

The charges are set by estate management companies to cover the costs of maintenance work which would usually be carried out by the local council.

Residents say they want to be adopted by Bromsgrove District Council, as they already pay full council tax including a parish council precept.

Michael Pattinson, who moved into his home in 2014 with his wife Laurinda, said: "It looks like the fees will go up again in June.

“When the charges were first imposed in 2019 it was promised the amount would stay at £120 when the estate was finished but that’s still another year away.

“We have a play area, a park but it’s often waterlogged, open spaces and controversially we also have to pay for the upkeep of a balancing pool.

“But we have a noisy drain cover which needs to be fixed, a fence that falls apart around the park, and some streetlamps don’t work.”

FirstPort says they are aware of some 'additional maintenance items'.

The management company said the developer has now repaired the faulty drain cover as part of wider works for the drainage system to be adopted by Severn Trent Water.

Bromsgrove Advertiser: Estate maintenance fees are used to maintain and upkeep services such as private roads, play areas and communal gardens. Estate maintenance fees are used to maintain and upkeep services such as private roads, play areas and communal gardens. (Image: Michael Pattison.)

Michael added: “We pay full council tax and parish council precept.

“I am also a councillor for Cofton Hackett Parish Council and would like to do some work to the estate but cannot as the estate isn’t adopted by the council.

“It’s not value for money as it's four times the amount of the parish council precept.”

Michael also claims the maintenance fees were not clearly explained to residents when they purchased a home.

Ruth Bamford, head of planning at Bromsgrove District Council said it’s not possible under current planning law to force a ‘private landowner/developer to hand over land for adoption to the council’.

“The developer is entitled to maintain and manage their land directly or indirectly,” she said.

“If we were asked by any developer to adopt their land, the council would consider the offer and agree a fee to manage the land in perpetuity.

“At this current moment in time, we have not been approached by the developer in question with an offer to adopt this land retrospectively, and until that happens there is very little we can do.

A spokesperson for FirstPort said: “As the appointed property manager, we are responsible for the maintenance of selected communal areas of the development, to ensure they are kept safe and in good condition for the residents that use them.

“The costs of maintenance works are covered by the service charge, which is carefully budgeted every year to cover the work there is to do and the expected costs of maintenance. 

“When purchasing a property, buyers should be made aware of any management arrangements and subsequent charges, and we would advise buyers to seek the relevant advice from their conveyance solicitor and/or the selling party prior to purchase.”