Britain: This is the neighborhood with the strictest rules

A neighborhood has been dubbed ‘Britain’s strictest’ after residents revealed they have to follow a 32-page rulebook in order to live in the housing estate. Anyone looking to move into a home in Birmingham’s leafy Calthorpe estate has far more obligations than rights, the New York Post reports.

Among the outrageous demands are banning all laundry-related activity on Sundays, banning artificial turf in yards, and placing every garbage can inside the house so that they are not in public view. Residents also have to pay an annual maintenance fee to live in the neighbourhood, which straddles the Edgbaston areas of Harborne and Quinton.

Howard Scriben, who has lived on the Calthorpe Estate for six years, says he finds this mandatory annual fee paradoxical. “It’s weird to buy an expensive house and then have to pay for it every year.” Mr. Scriben said he did not know about the multi-page manual of regulations before he was installed, which has cost him many of the fines it provides, but he continues to not comply with many of them.

“I know other neighborhoods have rules as well. In another area near us residents have to paint their doors green, but they don’t charge a fee, so that’s more my issue.’ On the other hand, Principle Estate Management, which runs the Calthorpe neighbourhood, claims the strict rules help to preserve the area’s special charm.

“At Calthorpe Estates we have always invested in maintaining the integrity and traditional charm of the area, to provide a quality environment where people want to live,” the introduction to the company’s bylaws states.

The most extreme rules

• Wooden sheds, greenhouses, pergolas and similar structures in rear yards must not exceed dimensions of 2x3x2.1 meters
• Artificial grass is prohibited in front yards
• Railings on gates and balconies should be painted black, and not overly decorated
• Each resident’s parking space must have the corresponding dimensions of their garden space
• Only cars are allowed to park on site, commercial vehicles and caravans must be parked outside the property
• Only small satellite dishes are allowed, which must not be visible from street level
• Waste removal is only done in the evening or early morning and bins must be kept out of public view
• If you are unable to carry them, a neighbor should do it for you

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