The driveway drama continues. Neighbours are still driving me insane. What should I do now?

Dear heavens, MN parking wars! People are so petty. No wonder I hate humanity and sooner we all die the better. Seriously. I cannot wait for a massive meteor to hit the earth because surely, SURELY, we are due one soon???

@Terfarina you are assuming these neighbours view the world as you do and therefore another conversation would sort it because they presumably don't realise it's a problem for OP.

But they are not like you, they're not like OP and they're not like me. Because none of us would pigheadedly continue to do something like this after we have been asked to stop. I would never do this in the first place, neither would OP and I can't speak for you here but it sounds like you wouldn't.

Some people are not reasonable. They don't look at things from all sides, weigh up different perspectives and try to find a solution for everyone.

Some people are self serving entitled cunts. It is quite clear from what OP has written that her neighbours fall into this category.

They never asked permission. She has asked them to stop. They continued regardless. She knows what she's dealing with now and needs to find another way to put a stop to it.

OP you've had some good suggestions here. Let us know what you go with.

This thread is hilarious - first world problems. I can't imagine having the energy to get so het up about something like this - I would definitely have a conversation about it rather than creating two long threads on MN and swearing at people.

Oh come on, how many conversations do I need to have? 2, 3, 4, 5? Would you really expect your neighbour to invite you in for a cuppa and ask you over and over to stop using their property? Seriously? Why isn’t being told once enough? Most normal people wouldn’t behave like this anyway, much less need to be reminded multiple times not to do it. They’re not children. They’re grown adults taking the piss. I shouldn’t have to spell it out for them.

Also, it’s not “bonkers” to put up a wall or anything on your own property. People can do whatever they want on their own land 🤣

You had one conversation, you failed to tackle it when NDN came to offer to reimburse your £3 planter.

Why not invite her for a coffee and have a conversation along the lines of 'it might seem a little thing to you but it matters to me, I am worried about the longevity of my new driveway with it being clipped, what can we sort out so you don't need to drive over it? I've been thinking of all sorts of bonkers things like building a wall but we are sensible adults, I am sure we can sort this out'

The OP had had the conversation with the neighbour and told her to stop using her drive . The neighbour ignored her and carried on causing damage to the OP’s property. How many times do you think she should ask? Once should be enough

One large very heavy concrete planter at the end of your driveway. That’s all you need to do.

It's quite extreme to spend £££ when a simple conversation might sort it - I guess the first time you didn't get it across to her how much this means to you. Why aren't you prepared to talk to her?

I’m not sure if anyone remembers my last thread, but to save me from explaining the background, I’ll link it here - https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5482826-neighbour-using-my-drive-landlord-wont-help-what-can-i-do?utm_campaign=thread&utm_medium=app_share

I’m not really looking for opinions on that since we’ve already discussed it. However, I’d like to hear your thoughts on what’s happened since then and what I should do next.

After chatting with the neighbour and her outright refusing to stop, I decided to put up my own fence for some privacy and to stop her from using my driveway. I considered putting down planters, boulders, etc. (which I’ll get to in a minute), but I figured a fence would be a better option since it’s sturdier. It’s not ideal because my driveway is pretty narrow, and the extra cost is frustrating, but their fence is right on the boundary line anyway, so hopefully, it won’t make a big difference, and I’ll still have enough space to get in and out of my car.

I’ve been trying to get someone to come over and give me a quote for the last few weeks, but I’ve been let down a couple of times. Finally, someone is coming this week to have a look. Now, about the planters. I’ve been parking my car there as usual, but somehow she’s still managed to squeeze past. I wanted to put something there while I was away this weekend until the fence was up, so I placed 2 long thin planters there (on my land, not hers). I got home yesterday, and there was a knock on the door. It was her saying she ran over the planters and broke them, offering to pay for a new one, etc. I said no (they were £2.50, so I’m not going to bother asking for that), but isn’t this just ridiculous? The planters were on my drive, so the only reason she hit them was because she drove over my property. She tried to claim she clipped them with her back wheel, but that wouldn’t have happened if she wasn’t cutting across the drive in the first place. It was honestly like something out of a comedy sketch.

I’d be more sympathetic if this was their only choice, but it’s not. They could:

Take down their fence so he can park the van there instead and put the car on the street to create more space.

Talk to the landlord again about the fence.

Talk to their neighbours and ask them to leave more room on the road for the van.

Move the van when she needs to go out or come back home.

They’re opting for the easiest, most convenient solution, even if it means damaging someone else's property. It just reaches a point where it becomes bone idle.

So what should I do now? Continue with the fence and hope she doesn’t crash into it or damage it? I can let the planter go, but not a fence. I’ve already asked her nicely, and she made excuses. I’ve put obstacles in her way, and she’s just driven over them. So what else can I do? Should I really have to go through all this trouble to stop someone from using my property?

What’s even more confusing is that she says she can’t get out of her car on the side of the fence because there isn’t enough space, so she has to pull onto the driveway instead of reversing and driving off in a straight line. But her partner was in the passenger seat yesterday and got out on that side just fine, so there’s clearly enough room. I think she’s just a bad / lazy driver and doesn’t want to reverse on.

Before anyone says it’s not causing any damage, I don’t care. It’s my property, and I don’t want them using it. If it was now and again, that would be different, but not every day, multiple times a day. They've been dicks and unhelpful in the past, so no, I don't feel like helping them out either.

Oh come on, how many conversations do I need to have? 2, 3, 4, 5? Would you really expect your neighbour to invite you in for a cuppa and ask you over and over to stop using their property? Seriously? Why isn’t being told once enough? Most normal people wouldn’t behave like this anyway, much less need to be reminded multiple times not to do it. They’re not children. They’re grown adults taking the piss. I shouldn’t have to spell it out for them.

Also, it’s not “bonkers” to put up a wall or anything on your own property. People can do whatever they want on their own land 🤣