Parking issue with commercial van - feeling anxious

[Bitofapickle22]

So I live in a quiet residential street. We all have driveways so no issues parking. About a week ago a large commercial lorry started parking in the street. It is huge. One of my neighbours saw the driver park it and then walk off to a street a few minutes away. I’m assuming he can’t or doesn’t want to park in his street so parks it in mine.

When it parks opposite my driveway it makes it harder to reverse in and yes to be honest staring out my lounge window at a huge van is an eyesore and I hate it. I shut the blinds but it’s bloody annoying.

Yesterday we had to help my neighbour out his drive as he couldn’t see round it.

I rang the company and politely asked if the driver could park more considerately. The bloke on the phone said the driver had moved to the area and would now be parking in my street and there’s nothing I could do about it. I explained about blocking driveways making it difficult to get in and out. He didn’t care. Said it’s taxed and insured and we’d have to get used to it. Said he’s known the driver 30 years and he is a “family man”.

Again today I hear it parking up opposite, the loud reversing noise. My DD who is 13 and off school sick looked out the window and the driver saw, came over to our house and started waving up at her. I am now thinking he’s obviously been told that I’ve complained and this is the start of some sort of personal vendetta.

I am a single parent and am now worrying what this bloke is going to do? I shouldn’t have rung. I’m so anxious about this. I just want a quiet life and now not only do I have to deal with this lorry 7 days a week and trying to get round it but the driver and the company know where I live.

Trying not to catastrophise but I have so much other stressful stuff going on that it feels like I’m spiralling.

He may have come to your window because your DD was looking out at him, not as any kind of escalation.

Park on the road and get your neighbours to do the same. You have every right to use the road for parking, just as he is doing. And it means no one will be stuck on their drive without visibility

i think I’d take a look at his street, find out why he can’t park there and replicate that in your street. You will need to have a chat with your neighbours about this though and make sure they feel the same way before you do anything and I’m only saying that because you’re anxious about it. You could park your car there but if people took turns it would be better. I’m a bit surprised the guy on the phone wasn’t a little more understanding about this, though I appreciate there’s unlikely to be any legal recourse here, and he’ll be aware of that. If his employees take their vehicles home every night he’s probably no stranger to these complaints.

A van parked in the street is legal, and he is perfectly entitled to park there, even if it is an eyesore. You would be unreasonable to cause an issue about this. Our family vehicle is a van, and we park it on the road.
A lorry is a different story altogether.

How would she “cause an issue”?

She has raised it politely with the company.

It has been suggested that she and her neighbours use the road spaces and that she checks whether or not the vehicle is over 7.5 tonnes.

ETA you are using a space on your own road for your own family vehicle. That’s not the case here.

I think if you have a large van, you need to think carefully about where you park it-on your own driveway or outside your house would obviously be first choice. If you are not doing that, then WHY!?

Dd lives near an airport. Travellers were parking in their street. Tyres were let down and people made it clear they weren’t welcome. If there are no camera doorbells in the vicinity I’d put a nail under the tyre. But understand you wouldn’t want to do that.

Also there is the risk of it being broken into

Yes, I just meant in the not being able to police where someone parks sense as the law isn't on her side. Unless of course it is a HGV but I feel that OP would have said so if it was and the man she spoke to seemed to be confident on the law. I expect this isn't the first time he's had complaints because no one likes a van parked outside their house.

Again it was blocking a neighbours view so everyone got the brother to move it I guess he did because he didn’t want to annoy his neighbours.

You and your neighbours are not entitled to a 'van-free view' when you look out your windows.

It might not look very nice but complaining about a legally parked vehicle because it spoils your view, is ridiculous.

I know you've used the excuse about people not being able to reverse etc, but that's no-one else's problem if they're entitled to park there.

Entitled to but don’t live there so they’ve a brass neck doing that

I would have asked lorry company man on the phone why the driver couldn’t park it on his own road.

I imagine the person you spoke to on the phone was either the driver himself (so he knows it was you who called as he could work it out from where he had parked that had caused you an issue) or it was a friend of his who immediately told him what you had said & again worked it out it was you.

Id get together with the neighbours and make sure you all park so that the van cant - hopefully he'll soon give up & park in his own road (& annoy his own neighbours which is why he's choosing not to do so!)

No our houses are 50 years old and there are restrictive covenants on our street.
OP, If you really do have difficulty getting out of your driveway you can let the police know because it is against the Highway Code to park so other people can’t get out. A neighbour should not have to guide you out.
When the lorry/van parks, is there enough room for an ambulance/fire engine to get through? If not then they are breaking the law.
If all the residents in the street feel the same then you can apply for a residents only parking scheme.

OP have you been able to find out if its subject to the HGV parking rules?

If its causing a nuisance or obstruction you can always ask The Police to see if they can do anything ditto if the driver is abusive/anti social

I meant view as in my neighbour couldn’t see round the vehicle when he came out of his drive and almost hit another car not view as in looking out the window at a huge eyesore of a van.

Is it a lorry or a van?

So it’s a van, not a lorry?

People can work vans in the street. Get over it.

Well whatever it is it sounds like it's causing an obstruction

She doesn’t have to get over it. She and her neighbours can park on their street and this guy can park his van on his own street.

And they will all have to update their insurance companies to let them know that the cars are now parked on public highway instead of on a driveway regularly.

Park in the space until he gets bored trying and find somewhere else. Get your neighbours to leave their cars in the street so there’s no room.

we had someone with a drive on another road who started parking where I park, so I impinged on where others parked. Without discussing it we all started parking in a way that didn’t allow him to fit his car in, he moved it elsewhere.

Taxed, insured and legally parked - there’s nothing you can do.

A van or a “large commercial lorry”? 🤨

Indeed they will. Better than losing their NCBs if they hit something pulling out of driveways when they can’t see past the van.

Or possibly after a couple of weeks of not being able to park, or the neighbours taking turns on the road in the larger spaces, he will piss off and park on his own road and they can go back to their drives.

Your daughter let people’s tyres down? Thats criminal damage!