Hard-working engineer who saved up deposit for his £300,000 dream home is refused house by snooty developers who BANNED him from parking his van
Tory MP Will Quince accuses developers of snubbing hard-working families and calls for an end to 'snobby rule'
AN engineer’s dream of buying his ideal home is in tatters — after developers banned him from parking his work van there.
Oliver Smith, 27, was all set to buy the £313,000 new-build where he planned to start a family with his wife Stacey.
But when he checked the small print, he found a ban on commercial vehicles parking there.
It means he is unable to leave his Ford Transit anywhere on the estate, in Colchester, Essex.
Oliver Smith has blasted a “snobby” developer and called the bonkers ban a “joke”.
He had chosen his plot and was all set to pay a £100,000 deposit when he found out about the “restrictive covenant”.
It means the Ford Transit he uses for work is not allowed to be parked outside his house — or anywhere else on the estate.
Oliver said: “As a tradesman I’m good enough to build the house but not good enough to buy it or live in it. It’s a complete joke.
“Everyone knows that an Englishman’s home is his castle.
“It’s upsetting and it feels like they are being very snobbish about hard-working tradespeople.”
The covenant was put in by Persimmon Homes, which is building the 278-plot Oakwood Meadows development in Colchester, Essex.
They told Oliver it will be enforced. It bars commercial vehicles, caravans, mobile homes, camper vans and boats from parking on the property.
It also says they must not be parked “between any building on the property and the estate road”.
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Oliver, an engineer for a major UK utility firm, said: “This was my dream house.
“Me and my wife were desperate to buy it so we can start a family.
“But banning my van means it’s not possible for me to buy — even though it would be my property.
“This van is my office, it comes home with me every night.
“We are based from home. My wife is upset by it all. She was set on the house, she loved it.”
He added: “Persimmon need to tell people. There is every chance that 30 per cent of people buying the homes could be tradespeople.
“Unless they change their deeds and policy, I will never be buying from them. I can’t take that risk.”
Similar bans are being written into new estates across the UK.
Critics slammed the policy for creating “ghettos” that rule out skilled labourers just because they drive vans.
It is raising fears blue collar workers will be left behind by the Government-backed building boom announced this week.
Ministers said this week that the first of thousands of starter homes for young, first-time buyers would be built this year.
Will Quince, Tory MP for Colchester, accused developers of snubbing hard-working families and called for an end to the “snobbery”.
A Persimmon Homes spokesman said: “This covenant is not at all unusual for new developments.
“It is to protect the amenity of the area for other residents.”
Common 'law'
A HOUSING expert has confirmed that restrictive covenants are more common than people realise.
David Garofalo, director of Cooper Wallace estate agents, said: “They can exist on all properties but are particularly common on new-builds.
“Often they refer to alterations such as garage conversions that cannot be done within five years of properties being built, for example.
“Other common covenants restrict keeping livestock or running a commercial business.
“On new-build estates, developers don’t want potential buyers put off by streets littered with vehicles, as it suggests there are parking issues.
“It is not something buyers would know prior to the legal process.
“It is not a surprise this development has this restriction in place.
“What is, is that it took this long for potential buyers to complain.”
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