RESIDENTS of the Le Coin Farm development are at the end of their tether after years of trying to get complaints about the site sorted out by local developers Venco Ltd.

It was sheer frustration that drove Martin and Christine Holmes to contact Fair Play after, they say, the company failed to address their problems despite giving the developers plenty of time to do so.
Venco Ltd deny all their allegations.

The Holmes’s complaints date back to 2004 and they believe that they have been more than patient in their efforts to get the situation resolved amicably.

As a last resort, they went to a local law firm which wrote a letter on behalf of the couple.

‘We employed the services of Benest and Syvret. However they have had no more luck in getting a response than we have,’ said Mrs Holmes.

So it would appear that little can be done to make a developer comply with their ‘contractual obligations’ even when lawyers are brought in to try and sort out the problems.

To back up their complaints, the couple have numerous documents relating to their problems with Venco Ltd and many faxes dating back to 2004 to the present, which they say the company failed to respond to.

The couple spoke to us on behalf of all the residents, including neighbours Peter Gallaher and Ian Duddle who say they also have files of unanswered correspondence.

Mrs Homes says the main concern which affects all the residents is the non-completion of the roadway which serves the development and the entrance area. She says the first fax relating to the completion of the roadway was sent in June 2004.

The complaint is that the developer has failed to provide a ‘surfacing fit for purpose and pursuant to their contractual obligations’ and that the developer needs to sort out the north side of the entrance on safety grounds in line with their contractual obligations and in accordance with the requirements of Planning.

Mrs Holmes says that they also still have a temporary sign on the entrance which Venco promised to replace with a permanent toughened glass sign – which so far has also not been done.

lWe put the residents’ complaints to Frank Venton of Venco Ltd, who has been a property developer for the last eight years.

His company was in the news recently as the buyer of the former railway station Old Station House opposite Corbière Phare in St Brelade.

The company denied the allegations with the following statement from their lawyers:

‘As is often the case in these matters, the correspondence that you have seen is not reflective of the position between the respective parties. For the avoidance of doubt, my client denies all and any allegations.’

*Picture: Residents Peter and Kathy Gallaher, Christine and Martin Holmes, Ian Duddle and Sue Ford are not happy with the state of their driveway at Le Coin Farm, St Brelade