Lindfield housing estate’s ban on chalk pictures causes dismay

William Fuller said his daughters aged one, seven and nine, had drawn Thank You NHS on the pavement in front of their house, and other children had been happily entertaining themselves with hopscotch and walking trails on the Heathwood Park estate.

He praised the ‘community spirit’ in the area, adding: “As a deputy headmaster I am keen for the children to get exercise and their emotional wellbeing is of paramount importance, more so than their education at the moment.”

He said he and his neighbours were ‘disgusted’ to receive an email from the estate managers Chamonix Estates saying the drawings were not allowed.

“Are we not allowed to thank the NHS and key workers with a two foot chalk drawing outside our house?” he added.

An email to residents on the estate reminded them that drawing with chalk on the pavements and road ‘is not permitted as per the terms of the transfer which was signed upon the purchasing of your properties. We therefore ask that residents refrain from doing so with immediate effect’.

It added: “Whilst we can appreciate that at the moment these are particularly difficult times we need to ensure that all residents who live on the estate are respected and that everybody is compliant with the estate covenants.”

A spokesman for Chamonix Estates said: “As managers of the development we have to act in the wider interest of all owners. In this case, we had received a number of persistent complaints from other house owners asking that we write to everyone reminding them of their obligations.

“Inevitably, one person’s harmless drawing causes others who live on the development to take a different view.

“As managing agents, we try to remain neutral in such matters and refer people back to the terms of their transfer. Sadly, no matter which course of action we take, there is the chance that someone will take offence.”

A message from the Editor, Gary Shipton:

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news, I am asking you to please purchase a copy of our newspapers.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspapers.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

Stay safe, and best wishes.