Dubai: Jumeirah Park residents who paid millions to get a villa in the gated community say they feel cheated with the promised ‘parks’ turning out to be just a sorry barren patch of land with burglaries, beggars, regular flooding and missing signages adding to their misery.
Jumeirah Park comprises 2,700 villas (5, 4, 3 bedrooms) in the Dh3.6-Dh8 million price range.
Where is the park?
Residents in the community located next to Jumeirah Islands told XPRESS that despite an initial master-plan of the community showing a park in some areas – nothing has cropped up there - no grass, no trees, no play area, no nothing.
“We are supposed to be living in Jumeirah Park – but where is the park?” asked frustrated Jordanian resident Judith.
Pointing to the area in front of her villa in cluster H she said: “Take a look at this barren land, it was supposed to be a park. But it has supposedly been auctioned off by Nakheel to build villas.
“There is no grass, no play area, nothing whatsoever to suggest this is a park.”
XPRESS, however, could not independently verify claims about the land being auctioned off.
Judith moved into her three-bedroom villa in cluster H last October, after waiting six years for Nakheel to hand over the property. “I booked my villa for Dh4.9 million in 2008 when prices were peaking. After the economic downturn my villa prices fell to Dh2.8 million. All through I continued to pay my EMI. After going through so much hassle, the least you want is a decent place to live that feels and looks like a residential community,” she lamented.
While Judith was moving into her villa last October, pregnant British expatriate Kate had just purchased her four-bedroom villa, hoping to raise her child in a safe family environment. “I paid a premium to book a villa right in front of the park. But where is the park? I was hoping that this would be the place – but look at it now - there is nothing here. “In some months I am going to have to take my baby somewhere so she can play with other kids,” the disappointed British resident said.
This is not the only issue dogging the community. Lack of proper signages and facilities, flooding, security concerns and construction works have left them at their wits’ end.
Driving in the community feels like being stuck in a maze, say residents. “Visitors to the community are lost for directions due to lack of signs,” said Misba, a Jumeirah Park resident.
Driving in a maze
“Recently I had an emergency when my housemaid collapsed and I had to call an ambulance. It took them ten minutes to find my place after reaching the community entrance. It was really scary as my maid needed medical attention and every minute mattered. But our complaints are simply reaching deaf ears,” she lamented.
Another resident said cabbies rarely take a request to pick up passengers from the area as they too constantly get lost.
“Every time I call for a taxi the driver never turns up. I have now started calling private taxis even though they are more expensive. At least I know they will pick me up,” said Wisam.
Lack of security is another major concern. In January, Dh70,000 worth of jewellery was stolen from one of the villas.
“When my wife and I returned from a short holiday, we were shocked to see our safe broken into,” said Abdullah Al Tayer.
The Emirati, who fitted CCTV cameras and a burglar alarm in his three-bedroom villa after the incident said: “What is the point of buying a villa and paying service charges when your home is not safe to live in? There is nobody manning the community and we hardly see any patrolling either. There are no barriers or fencing in the community. Added to this, there are many workers doing odd jobs and nobody is keeping a tab on them. I will wait another six months for things to improve, else I will move out,” said Abdullah
Constant construction activity in a barren patch of land behind his villa is another headache, said the angry resident.
Mohammad Sohail of cluster N said he is hounded by beggars on his door-step. “I have complained to Nakheel a couple of times, but there has been no change.”
Flooding
Another issue is flooding in the area which has forced Nakheel to set up drainage machines and pipes to suck out excess water.
“I moved in last year and since then the area in front of my house has been flooded with water. After I complained to Nakheel, they installed dewatering machines and pipes to suck out excess water.”
“Right now the machine and pipes are pumping out water 24 hours a day. If this stops, the area will be flooded with water again. Aesthetically too the pipes make for a terrible sight. It’s a sad investment I have made,” said a resident who wished to remain anonymous.
In March Nakheel announced that it will transform Jumeirah Park, Jumeirah Village Triangle and Al Furjan – where around 16,500 people live - into gated communities. The developer will add nearly 20km of 1.8m-high fencing across the three communities.’
You speak:
Are you a Jumeirah Park resident? Are you planning to move out?
Have you faced similar issues in your community?
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