We live in an idyllic new estate, but we pay £9,000 a year to have the grass cut and to have terrorism insurance.

OWNERS living on a newly built estate must pay £9,000 a year for grass cutting and terrorism insurance.

Karen Stokes said she and her fellow Waterside Gardens residents “feel cheated” by private management company FirstPort.

Karen Stokes spends weeks negotiating charges on behalf of entire estateCredit: BBC

Residents of freehold estate in Wigton, Leicestershire, pay thousands to maintain pondCredit: BBC

Former parish councilor Pete Murray has set up a committee to help residents struggling with FirstPortCredit: BBC

Karen and Tony bought their house eight years agoCredit: BBC

They gain a foothold the invoice for maintenance work on a small balancing pond near the freehold estate in Wigston, Leicestershire – which Karen describes as a “second housing tax“.

The company is responsible for cutting the pond’s grass twice a year to prevent flooding, as well as maintaining a boundary fence.

The latest annual bill came to £9,031 in total, the equivalent of £75 per household.

It also includes contributions to terrorism insurance.

Karen, 65, and her partner Tony bought their house eight years ago and received no bills for the first two years.

But by the third year, FirstPort was asking £117.23 per household.

She said the BBC: “But they weren’t even there and hadn’t done any work at the pond.”

Karen explained that the 120 houses on the domain disputed the invoice and were able to negotiate a lower fee.

“We pay £9,000 a year to have the grass cut twice a year, which is a huge amount of money. money” she said.

A breakdown of this year’s bill shows just £1,158 of the fees went towards maintenance, according to the BBC.

WHAT IS A FREEHOLD ESTATE?

Freehold estates are private or mixed estates in which, unlike other residential areas, shared areas and facilities, such as roads, play areas and open spaces, are not owned or maintained by the local authority.

This model – dubbed “polar” by concerned residents – is becoming increasingly common as underfunded local authorities look for ways to avoid cutting costs.

There are an estimated 1.7 million privately managed homes in the UK.

While 80% of new homes sold by the 11 largest builders in this country are now subject to property management fees.

The remainder was spent on management costs, with the exception of £14 used for terrorism insurance.

Karen joked that the region is a “real hotbed” of terrorism.

However, FirstPort told the BBC it was “common practice” to charge residents for such insurance.

A spokesperson said it was an “important consideration when taking out insurance as part of a managed development”, although the likelihood of terrorism “may seem low”.

However, Sebastian O’Kelly, director of the Leasehold Knowledge Partnership charitytold the TV station: “I don’t see any reason why there would be terrorism insurance on this pond other than to make money for the management company that made the contract. “

Karen now spends weeks negotiating the charges on behalf of the entire estate.

Former parish councilor Pete Murray has set up a committee to help residents struggling with FirstPort.

However, he said the company had stopped collaborating with the group.

But, as the 59-year-old discovered for himself in 2021, FirstPort also charges anyone who sells a property on an estate it manages.

He had to fork out £2,000 to cover the costs of providing evidence of managed areas and insurance to send to the buyer’s solicitor when selling his house in Fernwood, he says.

More than 30 MPs wrote to the company’s chief executive last month after receiving complaints from citizens.

FirstPort told the BBC that service charges “have increased across our sector”, adding that its charges are “reviewed regularly”.

The Sun has contacted FirstPort for further comment.

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