To think I live in a fucking parallel universe?

[hungryhippo90]

I moved to a new build estate. I’ve never seen ANYTHING like it.

There’s a neighbourhood watch who put letters out on people’s cars if they’re parked in the estate. In fact a few cars got covered in tomato ketchup for being left here... not even specifically outside peoples houses. Some of the neighbours go out and moan at people parked anywhere near their house.

You get letters through the door if your bins aren’t in the back garden by 3pm the day they’re emptied (I don’t know what happens when you both work till 5pm!) there are a lot of moaning posts if it’s windy and bin day. One of the residents goes out and picks up litter, which is normal I guess but I’ve never seen it before.

There’s lots of moaning that there will be council accommodation on the estate and shock horror, the house prices!!

They currently have 3 different lawsuits ongoing with the housebuilder, the maintenance company who deals with the estates grass etc and I don’t even know who else.

One of the home owners asked the other day if the estate had security because they saw someone in a security outfit (there’s still buildingwork ongoing- there is security on that site nothing to do with the residents and FWIW it’s clear. This is answered by loads of ....maybe answers, and I start to think I don’t even live in this world. It’s clear we don’t have security! Who on earth would be paying for it? .....and one person pipes up with, ask to see their ID and their credentials (he wasn’t joking!)

Oh and there are pictures on the Facebook group - which you have to send your address to join by the way!) of every person they’ve ever seen walking through the estate.

Today someone posts a picture, someone posts a picture of two people, and one of them is out patrolling the estate for those not belonging here.

Please, please tell me I just live in a weird place and everywhere is not like this.

I find it beyond odc, a few of the other residents think it is beyond hilarious, and I used to laugh but it’s starting to bewilder me how grown ups who own houses, honestly believe our bog standard estate have security provided in the evenings.

Years ago I was dating some who lived in a very posh enclave (only way I can describe it). When I went to his I had to park in his garage as it was a no no to have cars parked on your driveway. His neighbours called the police to report a suspicious vehicle when he had workmen in and they were parked on his driveway. It was light driving into a twilight world.

I also belong to a Facebook page of the local area. It's hilarious, ooh anyone know what the helicopter is doing, what's happening in so and so road. Photos of strange cars, vans, people, watch out for this man(photo included). They've all gone mad, I'm not popular, I happened to say I was fed up with all the nosiness and got a telling off! This morning they're all complaining the bin men haven't put their bins back in a tidy manner and have just shoved them in the drive all higgledy piggledy. I doubt the poor blokes have time to stack them nicely.

I wouldn't want to live anywhere that had visible bins for more than a very few hours on bin collection day.

Whilst no one is bothered about the actual bin day, and neighbours manage on their way to and back from work, all the bins are out of sight the rest of the week. Why would anyone smugly display their bins all week round?

I would much rather have OTT neighbours who avoid burglaries than anti-social ones who leave their kids run feral, have loud parties and are a general nuisance. The OTT neighbours are much easier to ignore, and they keep the place tidy.

Is the Community FB Page allowed to take and publish photographs of people without their permission?

Sounds like they are straying very close to several illegal activities in their pursuance of Neighbourhood Watch, does NW have to be registered with the Police or Council, are there rules and regulations as to what they can/can't do? I'd make enquiries if I were in your position, OP, just to find out if there is anything you can pull them up on.

Overall they sound like a complete ott nightmare.

I'm sure I saw an X Files episode like this once. New build estate with very strict rules and transgressors disappeared overnight, murdered by strange alien thingys.
OP, whatever you do, no matter what the temptation, do not put one of those kids windmill things outside your house!

I would be putting a Santa and reindeer on the front lawn and telling anyone who asked it was because it was only 299 days till Christmas.

I have a sofa and a fridge in my front garden. Had to dump them there as tip was closed and I needed the van clear. I couldn't tell you the name of either my neighbours. I haven't spoken to one side ever and in 10 years only spoken to the other neighbour twice when I was asked to sign for a couple of packages.

I could never live on a new estate.
Recently divorced friend moved on to a new estate after her divorce and felt very left out as they too had wife swapping parties

I had to leave our areas Facebook page as the person who set it up spelled residents as residence and I couldn't bare to look at it every time someone posted. I'm probably missing out on shit like this! Though it's probably the state of my place people would complain about.

I don't care about bins, but the people over the road have built a very naice bin storage shed on their drive. No one has copied them. Disappointing.

People post pictures of dog turds on our Facebook group!

I have a sofa and a fridge in my front garden.
Living the dream, aren't you.

Fruitbat we live in a new build estate near Ashford and I think I know the group you're talking about!!

it'd incite me to acts of civil disobedience, it's like something out of the 1950s!

WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK??!! I had no idea people lived like this!
My washings been on the line for 4 days. Last week my bins we're out for 6 days because I couldn't be arsed to bring then up even though I was home. There are weeds/dead voles everywhere in the garden. How can anyone tell you how to keep your own property?! That's very non-British!

Oh god, it sounds like every estate has very similar going’s on.

And yes to PP who asked, a proper parking ticket! The residents committee got a management company to deal with it. I Was being stubborn and refused to use the permit, I now have £100 fine :-( residents can also Dob people in for parking on the estate without a permit.

can't you just show them evidence that its your parking bay and contest it?

Isn't there some kind of data protection issue around posting pictures of randoms? Maybe, even if there isn't, you could post to the Facebook group just suggesting that there might be?

Shit them up a bit...

Surely you can tell them that you did not join the parking scheme and therefore your bay is excluded - or something!

You've just totally reinforced my determination to never, ever live on a new build estate. What you describe is bonkers.

Pictures of people in public places are fine... they are in public after all! You don't have to ask and facebooks own guidance just says you should think about any possible consequences, especially when it's pictures of children.

For some reason lots of people think they walk round in a privacy bubble and cannot legally be seen

Why would anyone smugly display their bins all week round?

How does one smugly display a bin?

Oh and those of you talking about the x files episode, I haven’t seen it, and whilst it’s got my interest I won’t look...... I don’t want to know what may happen to me in the future!!!

I’m not sure if I’m joking or genuinely believing it could happen!

How do they enforce any of this shit?

I wouldn't be able to contain myself..

That’s insane. New build estates are just groups of housing, not some private gated community ffs. There’s two new build estates near me and I have to walk through one to get to the doctors and one has a through road with a bus and leads to some shops... are other people not allowed to set foot in them? I think it’s so cringeworthy that they think they’ve moved into some exclusive security patrolled private community like in an American movie when they are just in some bog standard newbuilds that are seen up and down the country. Photos of people they don’t recognise?! Do none of them have friends or visitors from “the OUTSIDE”?!

How does one smugly display a bin?
like some of the posters above

I would much rather have over-invested neighbours like the OP than living next to ones who use their front lawn as a tip or are just generally anti-social.