Removals director hits out at ‘stupid’ tenancy rule in Sarisbury Green after work vehicle vandalisms near Coldeast: ‘it’s kicking the working man’

Dale Walton, a resident of the Admirals Wood estate in Sarisbury Green, has had two of his work vans vandalised while they were parked outside Coldeast Mansion.

He says that due to a clause in his tenancy on his home on Rothschild Drive, vans are not permitted to be parked on his driveway or in front of his house - meaning that he has had to park the van elsewhere.

The first vandalism took place in December, when Dale, 38, found that the window of his van had been smashed.

Just over a month later, he discovered that another of his work vehicles had also been damaged - in exactly the same spot.

Dale, a Guinness Homes resident, says that this is affecting his livelihood as well as costing him money.

After discovering that the second work vehicle had been vandalised, Dale said: ‘I’ve had my front window smashed in, the driver’s mirror smashed in - it’s costing me £200.

‘It could have been avoided if it wasn’t for the stupid rule. Now I’ve paid the price.’

Dale is director of Meon Valley Removal, a continuation of Dale Walton Transport - a business he set up in 2015.

He said: ‘At the time, I was struggling to feed my kids.

‘I built my business up from a £50 note.’

He added that he feels this tenancy rule, which specifically applies to vans, is targeting working class people.

‘Gutted’ Dale said: ‘I think it’s a rule that shouldn’t exist - it’s a stupid rule that needs to be investigated.

‘I have a respectable panel van that doesn’t do anyone any harm. I deserve to be treated better than that.

‘It’s kicking the working man - it restricts people with what jobs they can take.

‘I’ve got to make a living.’

Dale, who pays full rent, says that he is ‘getting fed up by it’ and says he has ‘had a gutful of the estate’, where he lives with his wife and three of his children.

He added: ‘It could have been avoided. It’s upsetting, it cost me dearly.

‘It’s quite devastating - I’m trying to make my way in life. I don’t cause anybody harm.’

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Hampshire Constabulary confirmed that they received a report of the vandalism, but added: ‘Whenever an incident is reported to us, it is assessed for all available lines of enquiry to the investigation team.

‘Unfortunately, on this occasion, there were no identified available lines of enquiry and so this has been filed.’

Dale said that he chose not to report the second incident to the police as he ‘felt like there was nothing to gain’.

He added: ‘It’s just upsetting. It’s a business that I’ve built on my own. I shouldn’t be made to pay out elsewhere.

It would be so much safer if it was on my drive. It’s damaging to me, costing me money.

I’m just about making ends meet – the last thing I need is my vans being done over.’

A spokesman for Guinness Homes said: ‘We were sorry to hear that Mr Walton’s van was broken into and trust he has reported this crime to the police and to his insurance company.

‘It is very common for title deeds to have restrictive covenants requiring or preventing certain acts or actions.

‘The owner of this land, from whom Guinness acquired the development, placed a restrictive covenant across the site prohibiting the parking of commercial vehicles.

‘Guinness is legally required to impose this same restriction on our residents.

‘All residents were made aware that commercial vehicles could not be parked on the development before moving into their homes.

‘This information was included as an appendix to the tenancy agreement, which is a legal contract.

‘Residents who live at Admiral Woods signed their tenancy agreement to confirm their understanding and agreement to this parking restriction.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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