I was reading the thread about the Stockland estates and how some have quite restrictive covenants and it reminded me of a problem I have in my new estate.
The estate I'm building in also has some covenants, such as no plain concrete driveways - it has to be coloured, stencilled or exposed aggregate. No weatherboard homes. No plain steel fencing. No excessive use of window tinting. No removable homes. All external colours have to be approved for use. Clothes lines, antennas and satellite dishes are not to be seen from the street, etc. All things designed to make the estate look good.
Around the corner from my house, someone has "built" an old weatherboard home. It looks like it is a house of an old farm that has been relocated - which it probably was. The weatherboards have all been replaced with new weatherboards. The driveways they have had laid are both plain concrete and their fence is plain sheets of steel. It is UGLY. (I have nothing against old weatherboard cottages, I think they are lovely, but this house is terribly out of place.)
Before I could submit my house plans to Council I had to submit the plans, and my colour selections, to the estate Design Committee for approval (which I received). But I just can't see how this house around the corner gained approval as it breaches the covenants on several points. And I'm disappointed it has been built as the estate is otherwise quite lovely but everytime I take someone out to see my block of land, they all comment on the "ugly house around the corner".
I have considered contacting the Design Committee and alerting them to the house's existence and asking why it wasn't stopped by them. Do you think, given that the house has been stumped and driveways have been laid, that they'd be able to do something about it? I don't want to be a terrible neighbour but I think that house will bring down the value of the surrounding properties (which includes mine).