LOWER HUTT DRIVEWAY CHALK DRAWING DECLARED "UNLICENSED ROAD ART" BY NEIGHBOUR WITH CLIPBOARD
A hopscotch grid, a rainbow, and what appears to be a cat. The complainant counted three infringements.
A chalk drawing on a Woburn driveway has been formally declared "unlicensed road art" by a neighbour who has taken it upon himself to enforce bylaws that do not, strictly speaking, exist.
The drawing, executed on Sunday afternoon by two children aged six and eight, consists of a hopscotch grid, a rainbow, and what the artists insist is a cat. It sits entirely on private property, roughly four metres from the kerb. This has not deterred the complainant, a retired man from two doors down, who left a printed notice in the letterbox citing "visual pollution" and "unpermitted surface modification".
The children's mother, Danika Fenwick, said she'd read the notice twice to make sure it wasn't a piss-take. "It's chalk. It washes off. He's put it in a plastic sleeve. There's a reference number. Reference to what, I have no idea."
The complainant, contacted at his home, declined to give his name but confirmed he had lodged a related concern with Hutt City Council regarding "a scooter left at an angle" earlier this month. He added that the rainbow was "not to scale" and that the cat was "anatomically questionable".
Hutt City Council said driveways were private property and chalk was not a regulated substance. A spokesperson added, off the record, that they were aware of the gentleman in question and had "a folder".
The six-year-old has since added a second cat, reportedly out of spite. The notice remains in the letterbox, in its sleeve.
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Reader Letters
★ JoannePetone
This is what the world's come to? Complaining about kids' drawings? Bloody ridiculous.
★ Trev_Hornby
These clipboard wankers need a hobby that doesn't involve harassing neighbours. She'll be right.
Garry (Halswell)
Hopscotch is art? Back in my day, we called it playing outside.
Sandra McKenzie
Honestly, this fella should get a grip. The kids' chalk will wash away in the next rain. In the Hutt, rain is never far off. If every scribble on the kerb was reported, we'd all be in strife.
couchgremlin
Lol.
★ BarryBishopdale
Bloody council should focus on real problems, not this nonsense. It's like they're using our rates for their own personal vendettas.
Nicole_Kapiti
Bit harsh on the neighbour, perhaps? Maybe they're just concerned about maintaining neighbourhood standards.
WayneHuttGuy
Mate, standards are one thing, but calling chalk drawings 'road art'? Come on.
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