We saw one of their estates prior to buying our house. From the minute we walked into the show home we knew it wasn't going to be any good. Everything was tiny (hallways, stairs), no design work went into anything (i.e. couldn't open oven door as was backing onto a cabinet handle), and the standard of work in the 'show' home was shocking.
What size house were you looking at?
We were interested in a new build and there's quite a few going up around the Sandbach area. We only looked at 4 bed detached and these were surprisingly roomy. With everything pretty much designed for open plan there was lots of room. The showhome style was excellent as well where you could tell a lot of care had gone into the details. Almost to the point you'd happily move into a showhome. So certainly the complete opposite of what you'd described. I guess a lot depends on who's managing the areas.
Persimmon homes was a disaster though. The one thing I'd say I like about the TW homes is that the external houses still had character. The brickwork had different shades, they were styled with top half rendered, or exposed beams like a tudor style. And even the houses weren't just a square and had a front to the house.
Persimmon homes were ugly though, a basic square with solid red brickwork and chucked in with what looked like cheap white upvc windows and door. Even the showhomes interiors were not impressive in the slightest. You would have come to accept this if they were priced significantly cheaper than other house builders, but no, they're pretty much similar price. So I do feel sorry for anyone who's bought a persimmon home.