Many of us in Crescent House received a letter from the Estate Office, accusing someone of vandalism, by placing a few stones into the freshly painted bitumen, as it was soft due to the hot weather, and asking for information to identify the 'vandal'.  Please see below my response.  To date I have received no answer.  What disgusts all those I have spoken to is why is the Estate Office spending a lot of money on sending coloured photos of a few stones to residents, and why are Estate staff spying in the first place?  If they are so concerned about the bitumen being painted properly then why is it that a contractor told me he had to paint around a few plant pots?  So when those pots are lifted you see something that really does not look right!  

I am writing about the above letter, sent to all Crescent House residents, and our telephone conversation on the same day.

You stated that 'you had been made aware that someone has vandalised the freshly painted bitumen, .... by placing stones into the soft surfaces...' When I saw this letter I was horrified, as realised it was outside of my property. I telephoned you to inform you of the actual facts, which were that the stones had been in place for many years, as far as I can remember, and were in place to fill up existing holes in the bitumen. Indeed, they had been under my plant pots before they had been removed by force. I spoke to the contractor who painted the surface and he has confirmed that the stones were definitely there prior to painting, and that I had asked if he wanted them removed, but he replied no, and painted around them. That was his decision, and he will confirm to you these facts if necessary.

On removing the stones, he pointed out to me that if anyone had placed them there after the area had been painted there would be paint underneath, but there was not! I have since removed the stones myself and the contractor has filled in the areas where the stones were.

I am very concerned that you were wrongly given the information that 'someone' had placed the stones after the painting, when the surface was pliable due to the hot weather. I believe I know who wrongly told you this, because the same member of staff sent me an email early on the same day, claiming to have 'observed' items outside my property. I find this creepy and invasive.

I have spoken to several of my neighbours about this issue and they are not happy over what has happened, especially considering that it was noted that real 'vandalism' had been committed by my next door neighbour in gluing down an offensive door mat, and then replacing and gluing down another one, not offensive, but clearly showing the glue marks when the original one was removed. That looks really awful.

I trust you will now write to all Crescent House residents and explain how a misunderstanding has occurred, as I feel very distressed, especially as it was known to many of my neighbours that the photos of the stones were outside my property, to be virtually labelled as a 'vandal'. I can assure you I take special care to respect the outside of my property, especially as I suffer extreme OCD.