to think it's not ok to park a commercial vehicle on a residential street

[kitchengirl]

Posted in chat but no reply yet, so I thought I'd try here. Please help me decide if I'm just being grumpy about this! I live on a terraced street which is fairly busy in terms of parking. A flat bed van parks on our road every evening, but I am pretty certain the owner doesn't live around here. He drives here in the morning in his car, leaves the car here during the day, taking the van to work, then returns the van here overnight, driving his car to wherever his home is. Over the weekend the van is left here and doesn't move again until Monday. Am I right in thinking that he can't do this? Is there a rule against parking commercial vehicles on a residential street? I'm fed up with having to drive to another street to find parking and having to look out the window at his van outside my house all weekend!

[FrauHelgaMissMarpleandaChuckle]

If it's taxed and insured I don't think you can do much about it.

[FluffyMcnuffy]

Yes you're being grumpy. Unless it's a private road anyone can park there.

[LovleyRitaMeterMaid]

No rules. If it's taxed and MOT etc he can park anywhere.

[bodhranbae]

Put a note under his wiper and politely ask him if he'd park elsewhere if he is not a resident. He might be a decent bloke and bugger off or he might be a dick.
It is worth a try.

We had this all the time at my old house and it is a massive pain in the arse. We even had a bloody road sweeper parked up.
Residents got together and lobbied to have the street changed to Permit Parking.

[Haffdonga]

YABU
My cousin attends a trade fair and stays with us annually. He brings a (hired) truck with his trade stand gear, which he parks outside our house for the week. (It's a wide tree lined street and he takes care not to park in anyone's way). This year a neighbour reported him to the police for blocking their view through a 6 foot high Leylandii hedge The police said that the vehicle was taxed, licensed and perfectly legally parked. They were not impressed. Where exactly do you think should he have parked instead?

He employs people in our town and brings business here. Due to NIMBYism like yours he is reconsidering coming next year.

[Hulababy]

I'm sure its in my house documents that we can't park a commercial vehicle on our drive/directly outside house.

[angelohsodelight]

Have you called the company and explained the situation nicely? It sucks but what else can you do ..,,

[BitterHoneyGreenNight]

YABU.

There are no 'rules' as far as I'm aware. As long as it is taxed, insured and MOT'd the owner can park where he likes.

It is causing an obstruction or interfering with your life in any way?

[BitterHoneyGreenNight]

I do understand that it's annoying. I used to live near chap who owned a drivers business. He had 4 or 5 transit type vans that he used to park in the street. I didn't like it at all -parking was difficult at the best of times - but there was nothing I could do about it.

[newgirl]

I'm with the op - the driver could pay for a car park but chooses to be cheap. It might not be law breaking but it is selfish and anti social

[kitchengirl]

Haffdonga - bit harsh?? My story is clearly different to yours as I am talking about something that is happening week in week out rather than a one off event that you are describing. And the person I am talking about is not taking care to park out of everyone's way, but instead parking directly infront of houses. Where do I think he should park..... outside his house maybe rather than mine.

Thanks for the other suggestions - I will try a polite note since it appears there is no legal reason for him not to park there.

[BaffledSomeMore]

A lot of newer estates have a clause that in theory bans people from parking commercial vehicles on their driveway so that it keeps it all naice and smart while they flog the houses. Don't think it can apply to non residents parking on the street even then.
But if you're an ordinary road then he can park.

[Haffdonga]

Yes. Fair enough. I admit I am probably projecting just a tad. Sorry.

[bodhranbae]

It isn't NIMBYism.

In our situation people with babies & young children and some very elderly people had to park several streets away from their OWN HOME because some prat in a van decided to dump his commercial vehicle outside their house and bung up residential parking which was already at a premium in narrow terraced streets.

The only way to stop it is with resident's parking permits. But even then people take the piss.

[LovleyRitaMeterMaid]

That's a ridiculous clause, what if people own motors like this to earn a living? They aren't all work's motors.

[LovleyRitaMeterMaid]

But it's not residents parking is it? It's just a street.

[Nomama]

I know you can't park lorry cabs in residential areas - I have reported a few. A company with an 'Operator's License' should normally use a depot. Look up your local Traffic Commissioner and supply him with dated pictures and your story about it being a non local resident doing a park up.

And if the flatbed is bigger than normal vehicles and could be causing a nuisance, it should have night lights....
www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1989/1796/regulation/24/made

But in general it isn't an offence to park a commercial van in a residential street

[HarrietSchulenberg]

There's a very narrow street near my my mum's house on which the parking is terrible. It's a through road to leave the village and has a housing development of smart, massive 5 bed houses just off it. The new development seems to have a "no commercial vehicles" clause as 5, yes 5, different people park their huge vans and trucks on the street, right in front of the retirement bungalows, leaving their own 3 car driveways empty save for their own gleaming and expensive looking cars. It makes the street difficult to drive down, and blocks visibility for pulling out from my mum's side road.

If people own big vans to earn a living they might spare a thought for where they're going to park them before they buy a house that prevents them from using their own drives.

[SauvignonBlanche]

YABU to start 3 different threads about this.

[kitchengirl]

Lorry thread isn't me ....

[SauvignonBlanche]

My mistake, I apologise.

[HermanSkank]

If you want to park outside your house, buy a house with a drive. It really is that simple.

The more astonishing thing is our blind acceptance of everybody's right to leave their motor vehicles on the public highway willy nilly, with the consequent deterioration in safety, visual appeal and space for everyone. Most cars are parked up for the vast majority of the time - private car usage is incredibly wasteful. It's mad when you think about it - buy a motor vehicle without anywhere private to keep it, and just leave it in the public street. One day we'll look back at the way we allowed private car usage to blight just about every aspect of life and think we were all mad.

[orangefusion]

I park my very old ambulance camper van on my terraced street (is an ambo a commercial veh?). I am sure my neighbours hate her but I love her and cannot use her as much as I want so she stays parked outside someone elses house until I see a space outside mine I can move her into. And then I park my estate car outside someone else's house. C'est la vie. She is taxed and insured and other houses divided into flats have two and three vehicles per household. i have not much guilt .