A Twickenham resident has raised ongoing concerns about damage to her garden and fencing following development works carried out by London Square near her home on Edwin Road.

The resident, who asked to remain anonymous, is referred to as Rachel for the purposes of this article.

Rachel says she allowed London Square to use both her front and back gardens for access during the development works, with almost two metres of her front and back garden taken up, over a period of around 13 months.

In an email sent on 8 December, London Square informed Rachel, a PA Housing resident, that as part of its final stage works it would need to remove hoarding adjacent to her garden.

Rachel says the development has resulted in around two-thirds of her garden being taken up by works, more than she had consented to, and that patio slabs were damaged due to heavy digging.

She says she requested that the damaged slabs be replaced.

London Square responded by saying a new path would be installed. Rachel also asked for reassurance that her front garden would be repaired once the works were completed.

On 9 December, London Square asked whether Rachel had reported the issues to PA Housing, adding that any damage would need to be formally logged so surveyors could assess what remedial works were required.

advertisement

Andrew Cornick from Cornick Surveying proposed attending the site at 11am on Friday, 12 December. London Square later confirmed that it and the party wall surveyors would review the site on that date to formally agree the scope of works.

Rachel was unable to attend and requested that the meeting be rescheduled. On 10 December, London Square contacted the surveyors to ask whether a new date could be arranged, later confirming the inspection could take place at 2pm on Friday, 12 December.

The dispute resurfaced in January, when Rachel said her shed fencing had been removed and replaced with untreated timber that did not match the original colour of the surrounding panels. She asked whether the new fencing could be repainted to match.

On 20 January, London Square responded saying it would not carry out painting works to the new fences.

"We have installed new treated timber fences as discussed and as per the original that was removed," the developer said.

"It would appear the painting happened in the interim period of our access agreement and was never mentioned at our previous meeting where the scope of works was agreed."

Rachel replied, stating that the original fence panels should either be reinstated or all fencing painted to ensure a consistent appearance.

London Square maintained that it had reinstalled the removed section of fencing as agreed, adding that there had been no discussion about installing new fencing beyond that.

advertisement

The developer again advised Rachel to raise any concerns directly with PA Housing.

Rachel disputed this, saying she had never agreed to replacement fencing that did not match the original panels. She reiterated that all fencing had previously been painted the same colour.

In an email dated 22 January, Rachel sent London Square photographs of her fencing prior to the works, writing: "They show that all of my fences were painted the same colour at that time.

"I do not understand why you are saying that you replaced the original panel, as the one you installed is not the original and it has caused a very noticeable colour mismatch.

"I would like either my matching coloured panel reinstated or all the fences painted in one consistent colour.

"Rather than continuing to go around in circles, please let me know your final decision so I can proceed accordingly."

In a further internal email exchange dated 29 January and shared with the resident, a member of London Square staff questioned whether discussions about painting the fence panel were "necessary" for "a multi million pound housing developer", before asking for the painting to be completed.

Speaking to Nub News, Rachel said: "I am very frustrated with London Square. I allowed them to use both my front and back gardens for more than a year while the works were carried out.

"They removed my fence to replace it after completing work in my front garden, and they have now refused my request to either paint the new fence the same colour as my other fences, paint all the fences a different colour that I had agreed to, or reinstall the old painted fence panels.

"Previously, before they started work, all of my fences were painted exactly the same colour."

A spokesperson for London Square said: "London Square can confirm that we have offered to paint the remaining fence panels that we have recently replaced.

"However, this will need to be agreed in relation to the party wall agreement that we currently have with PA Housing, the owners of X Edwin Road.

"London Square remains committed to delivering much-needed new homes and continuing to be a responsible neighbour."

Rachel says that following London Square's response on 28 February, PA Housing sent a surveyor to the site on Friday, 30 January to discuss the fencing arrangements.

However, she says she has not heard from London Square since.

PA Housing has been approached for comment.