Badbury Park: Why Your Voice Matters Now

The decisions being made now could affect every household on our estate

Badbury Park is reaching an important stage.

The developers and managing agents are preparing for the eventual handover of the estate’s open spaces, drainage systems and other infrastructure. But before residents take responsibility for the Management Company, there are still important legal, technical and financial questions that need clear answers.

These are not just issues for a handful of residents or directors.

They could affect every homeowner on Badbury Park.

That is why we are asking every household to support the Coate (Badbury Park) Residents Working Group by becoming a Friend on our website:

👉 e-voice.org.uk/badburypark

It’s free, takes less than two minutes, and helps us build a stronger community voice.

🚨 Why does this matter now?

Badbury Park includes complex infrastructure such as Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS), retention basins, unadopted sewers and areas of land that still need to be properly understood, inspected and documented.

Before residents take responsibility for managing these assets, we need to know exactly:

• What are we being asked to take over?
• What has been completed — and what hasn't?
• Who is responsible for outstanding works?
• What has actually been inspected and approved?
• What could future repairs or maintenance cost residents?
• Which responsibilities remain with the developer, the Council or statutory bodies?

These questions need answering before, not after, residents inherit responsibility.

⚠️ What happens if we take over too soon?

If the Management Company takes responsibility before all the facts are established, residents could potentially face:

Unknown liabilities

Without complete drawings, adoption records, maintenance information and legal documentation, it is difficult to know exactly what we would be agreeing to maintain.

Unexpected costs

If drainage systems or other infrastructure require significant repairs in the future, residents could potentially face substantial bills.

Outstanding developer obligations

The TP1 contains obligations relating to the completion and maintenance of certain drainage infrastructure. We need to establish exactly what remains outstanding before responsibility changes hands.

Missing information

Swindon Borough Council has been unable to provide the inspection evidence associated with the Final Certificate issued in March 2024. This is an important matter that needs clarification.

Reduced leverage

Once residents assume responsibility, it could become much harder to establish that outstanding problems should have been resolved by others.

The principle is simple: understand what we are taking on before we agree to take it on.

🏡 This isn't about creating conflict — it's about protecting our community

The Residents Working Group is a group of property-owner volunteers working to make sure residents' interests are properly represented.

We are seeking information and answers from the relevant organisations, including the developer, Swindon Borough Council, Thames Water and the managing agents Remus/Fexco.

Our aims are straightforward:

• 📋 Obtain the documents, drawings and information residents need
• 🔎 Establish what has been completed and what remains outstanding
• 🏗️ Ensure infrastructure is properly inspected and handed over
• ⚖️ Identify where legal and contractual responsibilities sit
• 💷 Help protect residents from inheriting unnecessary costs
• 📢 Keep the community informed with factual information
• 🤝 Give Badbury Park residents a stronger, united voice

Why your support matters

At present, there is no formal residents' association on Badbury Park representing homeowners' views to the Management Company, Remus/Fexco and the developers.

The Residents Working Group is currently being run by property-owner volunteers who have stepped forward to help represent the wider community.

Our Ward and Parish Councillors have an important role too. They provide a link for residents on matters that fall within the responsibilities of Swindon Borough Council and South Swindon Parish Council.

These roles complement each other.

But we also need a strong, independent resident voice when dealing with the organisations responsible for the development, management and infrastructure of our estate.

💙 One community. One voice.

You don't need to become a director.

You don't need to attend every meeting.

You don't need to be an expert in drainage, planning or property law.

Simply becoming a Friend helps us demonstrate that residents care about what happens next.

The more households that stand behind the Working Group, the stronger our collective voice becomes.

Please join us today.

👉 Become a Friend at: e-voice.org.uk/badburypark

It’s free. It takes less than two minutes. And it could make a real difference to the future of Badbury Park.

Don't wait until the handover is complete.

Let's make sure the right questions are answered before responsibility passes to residents.

Badbury Park is our community. Let's make sure its future is protected.

£26,422 EXTRA — AROUND £30 MORE PER PROPERTY

Remus has proposed a £26,422 increase in the Badbury Park estate service charge budget for 2026.

That works out at around £30 per property, depending on the final number of properties and individual apportionment.

And Remus has already indicated that some of these costs — particularly reserve contributions — could increase further in future years.

But what are residents getting for this additional money?

We are not against sensible maintenance or properly funded reserves. What we are asking for is transparency.

We want to know:

• Where exactly is the additional £26,422 being spent?
• Why have the reserve contributions increased so significantly?
• Are residents paying to replace the play equipment removed following the accident?
• Why has a new £3.20 per-property Professional Fee been introduced?
• What improvements and works are actually planned?
• What are the current reserve balances?
• What was actually spent last year?
• Why are residents being told that some charges may increase again?

We have asked Remus for a full breakdown and supporting information.

If you're a Badbury Park resident, this affects you.

We want more residents to understand what they are paying, where the money is going, and to have their say about the future of our estate.

If you have questions or concerns, please get involved. The more residents who take an interest, the stronger our voice will be

Anger over unfinished Abbey Farm estate bill

Residents and councillors at Abbey Farm in North Swindon have raised concerns that they could be left paying for almost £200,000 of unfinished work on the housing estate.

The outstanding work includes flood management, landscaping and play-park improvements. Residents fear they could ultimately face higher management fees if responsibility for the estate is transferred to a management company before the work is completed.

Abbey Farm resident Joe Tomkinson, who moved to the development in 2017, said homeowners had bought their properties expecting to live on a “premium estate”.

Residents already pay management charges in addition to council tax to maintain communal areas and other shared facilities.

Joe said: “We accepted we were going to have to pay on top of council tax, but to let the developers ride off into the sunset while residents pick up the bill isn’t what we were promised.”

He said the incomplete flood management works were particularly concerning and described the situation as “the ultimate cautionary tale” for anyone considering buying a new-build home.

Councillor Kate Tomlinson, who represents St Andrews East Ward, has criticised developers Redrow and Vistry over their handling of the issue. She said residents could be left liable for the outstanding costs through increased management fees if the work is not completed before the estate is transferred.

“What is the point of delivering new homes that then residents are left completely out of pocket on years later?” she said.

The Home Owners Alliance has warned that disputes over the quality and completion of new-build estates are becoming increasingly common as more homes are constructed.

Its chief executive, Paula Higgins, said there is currently a lack of effective redress and enforcement for homeowners facing problems with estate management.

A spokesperson for Vistry said: “The outstanding issues relate principally to the approval of open space and landscaping works, which are currently being reviewed through the appropriate processes.”

Redrow and Vistry said they remain committed to completing their obligations and securing the necessary approvals.

With thousands more homes planned across Swindon and Wiltshire, residents say the situation at Abbey Farm highlights the need for greater accountability when new housing developments are handed over to homeowners and management companies.

Coate (Badbury Park) residents need to ask "are we in a similar situation" with the Land still not transferred to Property Owners?

2 August 2026

Dear Fexco Legal Team,

I am writing on behalf of the Coate (Badbury Park) Residents Working Group regarding the Estate Management Charges currently being demanded in respect of properties at Badbury Park.

Having carefully reviewed our TP1 Transfer Deeds and the Section 106 Agreement relating to the development, we would be grateful if you would clarify the legal basis upon which Badbury Park (Swindon) Management Company Limited is currently demanding Estate Management Charges whilst the Public Open Space remains in the ownership of the developer.

Our understanding is as follows.

The TP1 requires homeowners to pay the Annual Sum to Badbury Park (Swindon) Management Company Limited and provides that the Company, or its managing agent, may calculate and administer those charges.

However, Schedule 4 of the Section 106 Agreement appears to establish a different sequence of events. It provides that the Owner is responsible for completing, maintaining and remedying defects in the Public Open Space and, only after the expiry of the twelve-month maintenance period following the issue of the Final Certificate, is the Owner required to either:

1. Transfer the Public Open Space to the Council (or its nominee); or
2. Transfer the Public Open Space to an appropriate management body previously approved by the Council.

From the information available to residents, it appears that the Public Open Space has not been transferred and remains in the ownership of the developer. We also understand that Remus has been appointed by the developer to manage the estate on the developer's behalf whilst simultaneously issuing demands for Estate Management Charges on behalf of Badbury Park (Swindon) Management Company Limited. This has created understandable uncertainty regarding the respective legal roles of the developer, the Management Company and Remus.

To assist residents in understanding the current legal position, we would be grateful if you would respond to the following questions and, where appropriate, provide copies of the relevant documentary evidence.

1. Has the Public Open Space been transferred pursuant to paragraph 1.7.2 of Schedule 4 of the Section 106 Agreement? If so, please provide the date of transfer and identify the transferee.
2. If the Public Open Space has not been transferred, on what legal basis does Badbury Park (Swindon) Management Company Limited presently demand Estate Management Charges in circumstances where the Section 106 Agreement provides that the Owner remains responsible for the Public Open Space until the transfer process has been completed?
3. Has Badbury Park (Swindon) Management Company Limited been approved by Swindon Borough Council as the "appropriate management body" referred to in paragraph 1.7.2 of Schedule 4? If so, please provide the date of that approval and a copy of the approval.
4. Please confirm whether the Final Certificate referred to in Schedule 4 has been issued for the relevant Public Open Space and, if so, provide the date of issue together with a copy of the Final Certificate.
5. Please confirm the date on which the twelve-month maintenance period required by paragraph 1.6 of Schedule 4 expired.
6. Please confirm whether the Landscape Management Plan currently being implemented is the version approved by Swindon Borough Council pursuant to the Section 106 Agreement and provide a copy of the approved Landscape Management Plan.
7. Please clarify whether Remus is acting:

• solely as agent for the developer;
• solely as managing agent for Badbury Park (Swindon) Management Company Limited; or
• on behalf of both organisations.

If Remus is acting on behalf of the Management Company, please confirm when the Management Company assumed responsibility for the management and maintenance obligations relating to the Public Open Space and identify the legal instrument under which those responsibilities were delegated or transferred.

The purpose of these questions is to understand how the current arrangements comply with both the TP1 Transfer Deeds and the obligations contained within the Section 106 Agreement. Given that homeowners are contractually required to contribute towards the maintenance of the Public Open Space, we believe it is reasonable for residents to understand the legal basis upon which those obligations are presently being administered.

We would appreciate your substantive response together with copies of the relevant supporting documentation within 21 days of the date of this letter.

Should these matters remain unresolved, residents reserve the right to place this correspondence before the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) and to seek appropriate directions for disclosure of any relevant documents upon which you rely in support of the Management Company's authority to demand the Estate Management Charges.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully,

Peter Eves

Coate (Badbury Park) Residents Working Group