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Parking one with diagram

10 replies

doodlejump1980 · 05/09/2022 19:13

Can someone help me with what to write to leave on the windscreen of the (green) car that has been abandoned opposite our driveway please? It’s been there for 4 weeks now. Police aren’t interested as it’s not technically causing an obstruction and the car is mot-d and taxed and it’s a public road etc. They’ve tried to contact the owner with no success.
But the way it is parked means that we can’t move our 7m campervan as we need the full width of the road to get it out of the drive! We’ve lost campsite bookings for two weekends now and it’s really annoying me now! Grrrr

Parking one with diagram
OP posts:
DessicatedWithering · 05/09/2022 19:21

Is it legally parked?

If not, does your council have a parking warden page on their website where you can report it?

doodlejump1980 · 05/09/2022 19:27

Technically it is legally parked 🙄, but the way it’s parked means we can’t get our van out our drive. It’s a quiet street where everyone knows whose car is whose, and so this one has just appeared out of nowhere and hasn’t moved for four weeks. Council also won’t do anything as it’s not been there long enough 🙄 and it is mot-d and taxed.

OP posts:
BowiesJumper · 05/09/2022 19:33

Can you bump it down the road with the help of a few neighbours?

SeasonFinale · 05/09/2022 19:35

Yes there was a previous MN thread where the local rugby team picked a car up and moved it!

Notthisnotthat · 05/09/2022 19:38

Do you have a community Facebook page where you could ask for it to be moved to let you out?

Jumbojem · 05/09/2022 19:43

agree local FB. Is it the sort of place people would leave a car as “safe” when they go away for a long time? I have sought out a quiet residential street before now when I’ve had to I that (but only usually a week or so, not 4!). I’d probably also be mindful of not being near anyones drive.
whilst it’s annoying it isn’t actually the parked car owners fault that you have a large camper which needs a wide turning circle so not really sure what “notice” you intend to leave.

WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll · 05/09/2022 19:51

If it's all in a legal condition/status and parked in a legal space, I don't think there's anything you can do. Maybe a polite note asking if they could kindly park a bit further down, so you can get your motorhome out, but ultimately, it's your problem not theirs if you don't have enough room to manoeuvre a very large vehicle in and out. You may end up having to keep it on the road somewhere yourselves if you're having to rely on people not parking in legitimate spots to be able to get it into or out of your property.

We keep our caravan on our drive, but frequently find it very difficult indeed to get it back on when we return home, as we would need the full width of road to be able to swing it around and in smoothly and easily - but others also need to park along that side of the road. It's not their fault if it takes us much longer and a lot more effort to do so. We haven't got a motor mover, but will probably pay to get one fitted, as it's our oversized vehicle (well, trailer) and thus up to us to find a solution.

Also, when you say 'abandoned', do you know that for sure? Just because a car isn't moved for some time does not mean that it's been abandoned - plenty of folk don't use their cars more than they absolutely have to. Unless it's untaxed, uninsured, burnt out or similar, however annoying it may be, in no way can you declare it abandoned, any more than your Christmas tree is 'abandoned' in the loft for 11 months every year.

WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll · 05/09/2022 19:52

Yes there was a previous MN thread where the local rugby team picked a car up and moved it!

If it's parked illegally and/or blocking your drive, I'd say that's fair enough. If it's in a safe, legal space - but just one where you'd prefer it not to be - I'd call that antisocial bullying.

SeasonFinale · 06/09/2022 18:03

WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll · 05/09/2022 19:52

Yes there was a previous MN thread where the local rugby team picked a car up and moved it!

If it's parked illegally and/or blocking your drive, I'd say that's fair enough. If it's in a safe, legal space - but just one where you'd prefer it not to be - I'd call that antisocial bullying.

If its blocking them getting off their drive then that's antisocial parking. I don't mean taking it and hiding it just moving it along slightly so as not to block the drive. Is it your vehicle? Grin

WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll · 06/09/2022 21:35

No, it's not mine!!

Where do you draw the line, though? Suppose you had a huge massive long drive down the side of your house and wanted to store an artic or a winnebago there. Would you be reasonable to expect the entire street to be left free of parked cars at all times, so that you could manoeuvre it in and out?!

Obviously, I don't know OP's setup, but I wonder if this car being there makes it 100% impossible or just very difficult. If the latter and you can get it out - even if you need to do an Austin Powers along with two people there to guide you - I don't think you can really complain.

Having a driveway (as do we, I hasten to add) is already a (potentially anti-social) privilege, as you effectively get to reserve the equivalent of a parking space on the public road as 24/7 access to your drive. People will claim that they're doing everybody else a favour in having a drive and not needing to take up a space on the road, but in reality, that's exactly what your drive access does - worse so, as nobody else can ever get a fair opportunity to use it.

Folk will often regularly park over their own dropped kerb as well as having the drive, figuring that it's not a problem to block themselves/their household vehicles in, so they end up having both the penny and the bun. I'm not convinced that it's fair to expect others who don't have drives to effectively lose two potential public spaces by demanding the opposite space be kept permanently clear too.

Having said that, I don't suppose it would be too dreadful to move a vehicle a foot or two, if you were able to do so without damaging it at all and still leaving it in a safe, legal space, but it's still taking a huge liberty with somebody else's property.

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