Snagging Survey Pontprennau & Lisvane CF23

CF23's new build market is concentrated in the Lisvane and Pontprennau elevated zone - a plateau ridge at 70-90 metres above sea level, distinctly different from the lower-lying CF3 postcode to the south. The Churchlands masterplan (Site F in Cardiff's Local Development Plan) covers 330 hectares between Lisvane and Pontprennau, allocated for a minimum of 4,500 homes in total.

• Bellway Longwood Grange (Ty-Draw Road, Lisvane CF23 6XL): 2, 3, 4, and 5-bedroom homes from £374,995. Five-bedroom detached The Beech at £669,995. Direct access to Lisvane Reservoir 5km waterside path. First Homes Cardiff scheme available (70% equity share). 105% Part Exchange offered. NHBC Buildmark warranty included.
• Redrow Churchlands (Lisvane): Heritage Collection 3 and 4-bedroom homes from £504,000 to £590,000. Third and final phase of a 380-home allocation. Redrow's Eco Electric variant includes air source heat pump and ground floor underfloor heating. Redrow holds a 95.7% HBF recommendation rating for 2025 - but recommendation ratings measure customer satisfaction, not zero-defect delivery.
• Taylor Wimpey North East Cardiff / Churchlands Site F (planning ref 19/02330/MJR): 2,500-home outline planning consent granted. Construction start targeted for 2026. Will include 30% affordable homes, primary and secondary schools, district centre with GP surgery, and employment land. Llanishen Reservoir immediately adjacent to the western site boundary. This is the largest single remaining greenfield allocation in north Cardiff.

HBF's 2025 customer satisfaction survey found 95% of all new build buyers reported defects to their builder after moving in - including buyers on sites rated 5-star by HBF. Our inspectors typically find between 40 and 180 items per inspection, depending on site management quality and build stage.

A CF23 snagging survey must cover more ground than an equivalent English inspection. Welsh Part L requirements mean CF23 new builds contain more complex mechanical and electrical systems than equivalent English homes built before 2022. Air source heat pumps, solar PV panels, mandatory airtightness measures, and sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) are all standard on current Redrow and Bellway developments. Each of these systems has specific commissioning and documentation requirements - and our inspectors check all of them.

• ASHP commissioning: the heat pump must be correctly sized for the dwelling, charged with refrigerant, and set with appropriate flow temperatures - typically 35-45°C for underfloor heating systems. Commissioning records and handover documents should be available at legal completion.
• Airtightness seals: Part L 2022 mandates a test result; gaps at window frame perimeters, service penetrations through external walls, loft hatch seals, and party wall junctions are common failure points that affect energy performance in the first winter of occupation.
• SuDS drainage: Cardiff Council requires sustainable drainage on all new developments. Permeable driveways, soakaways, and attenuation basins must drain correctly. On Mercia Mudstone subsoil with limited permeability, improper SuDS installation leads to surface water ponding back toward the dwelling.
• Thermal bridging at junctions: Wales uses a lower psi penalty factor than England for unmodelled junctions - meaning any junction that was not specifically calculated must meet a conservative default. Thermal imaging during our inspection identifies cold bridges that would otherwise go unnoticed until the heating bill arrives.
• Finishing and fit-out: doors sticking or not latching, uneven floor screed causing furniture to rock, tile grout at skirting junctions not complete, paintwork with holidays or runs, kitchen and bathroom silicone joints not fully formed - these cosmetic items are the most visible part of any snagging list and are the easiest for builders to dismiss without documentation.

Redrow holds a 95.7% HBF recommendation rating. Bellway and Taylor Wimpey are consistently in the 4-star range. These ratings reflect customer satisfaction, not defect-free delivery - 95% of all new build buyers nationally reported snags to their builder after moving in, including those on 5-star sites.