Hanging up washing on a Sunday? Not at this estate you can't.
A Birmingham neighbourhood has been dubbed the UK’s ‘strictest housing estate’ for issuing residents a 32-page handbook.
There are a fair few dos and don’ts that all residents of Calthorpe Estate, about a mile from the city centre, must remember.
From what colour the gates can be painted (black is ‘preferred’) and only being able to work from home under ‘limited circumstances’ to washing not being allowed to be hung on Sundays.
Don’t worry though, you can keep a ‘couple of chickens’ in your garden.
Those living on the 1,600-acre estate, which stretches through Edgbaston and into Harborne and Quinton, must also pay an annual ‘maintenance fee’.
Howard Scriben, who has lived in Calthorpe for six years, says he’s never bothered to read the rulebook.
On gardens, the Residents’ Handbook says:
On driveways and ‘parking areas’, it states:
On TV aerials and satellite dishes, it adds:
On bins, it says:
On working from home, the book states:
He said: ‘I know other estates have rules – on one nearby residents have to keep their doors green – but those don’t charge a fee, so that’s more my issue.
‘I’d actually say they don’t enforce them too much as there have been properties recently with skips out front and rubbish left there for months.’
Other rules in the Calthorpe handbook include how commercial vehicles, caravans, and motorhomes can only be parked on the estate for ‘short periods’ or temporarily – preferably ‘out of sight’.
Buildings such as sheds or greenhouses must match the style of the property and be of a pretty specific size: ‘No more than 2m (6ft 6in) width x 3m (9ft 10in) length x 2.1m (6ft 10in) high.’
Speaking of specifics, the pamphlet contains helpful diagrams of the maximum height that fences and hedges can be – 2m. It’s up to residents to keep the trees in check which are the ‘defining character’ of Calthorpe.
But what isn’t up to them is where they can install a satellite dish. They’re only allowed the one – which has to be a satellite mini-dish – in certain ‘inconspicuous’ spots on the property that estate bosses decide on where people can’t see them when walking past.
The maintenance fees, Howard added, are ‘strange’.
The maintenance company boss said: ‘You have no choice about it, either. I remember getting fined for not paying it once.
‘But I’m not sure what we’re paying for. It obviously appears to be about maintenance – but we’re all already paying council tax.
‘It seems to me like they’re just pocketing a bunch of money.’
In a foreword to the rulebook, Calthorpe Estates chief executive Haydn Cooper says the property development can be traced back to the late 18th century.
The ‘Scheme of Management’ was brought in ‘to maintain the quality and character of the environment for the benefit of all those who live on the Estate’.
The estate includes Edgbaston Village, Edgbaston First and Edgbaston Medical Quarter.
‘We hope you will find it useful and support us in upholding the standards of the Estate for the benefit of current and future generations,’ Cooper adds.
Principle Estate Management, which runs Calthorpe, said the rules help the estate maintain its ‘charm’.
Calthorpe Estates has been approached for comment.
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