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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Row over no dropped kerb

163 replies

pingu2209 · 07/05/2011 14:45

My friend lives in a very busy and narrow street full of Victorian terraced houses with terrible parking issues. Many of the houses have had their front garden walls removed and paved over their garden so that they can park their car.

Some of these houses have paid the council to drop the kerb outside so they can park, but many of the houses have not. You can legally park across someone's house (and therefore car parking space) where the kerb is not dropped.

There are constant rows between my friend and her neighbours when she parks infront of 2 or 3 houses where the kerb is not dropped. When she does it, it is because she has no choice as there is no where else to park on the street.

The owners of these houses have become really nasty about it and she is worried her car/house will be damaged during the night. Her view is they should apply for a dropped kerb and pay for it to be done. Of course, they may well have already applied and the council have turned them down as there are so many dropped kerbs already? Who knows.

Is she being unreasonable?

OP posts:

HecateQueenOfTheNight · 07/05/2011 15:01

x post again can't she ask the landlord's permission? point out the parking problems?

and yes, the neighbours are being unreasonable. but so is your friends.

and what really matters? 'winning' or enjoying a quiet life with neighbours who don't hate you?

It's only parking.

They all need to calm down about it.

FabbyChic · 07/05/2011 15:01

Seriously in order to park in your own front garden you have to pay the c ouncil for a dropped kerb. Get your friend to contact the council and give them the addresses whereby they park in their front garden with no dropped kerb, those that do will get into trouble.

YOUR FRIEND IS NOT BEING UNREASONABLE. The neighbours are.

Original poster

pingu2209 · 07/05/2011 15:01

She can't be sure, but the 'talk' on the street is that the council won't let any more dropped kerbs as it will cause too much of a problem for street parking.

OP posts:

thumbwitch · 07/05/2011 15:01

well if she rents then she should consider asking the LL if the garden can be turned into parking.

It's really bloody annoying if you can't get out because someone has blocked you in, which is what she has effectively done by parking in front of someone's car.

And as I said before - if all these people do get dropped kerbs, she's not going to be able to park in front of their houses anyway so she needs to find a better solution rather fast!

sayithowitis · 07/05/2011 15:01

Well, she could suggest that the council put in bollards to prevent people driving across the pavement to park on their paved over front gardens, but of course they would then have to park somewhere, presumably outside the houses! So she would be no better off and would have created even more bad feeling about it. Frankly, she sounds selfish. And, if her local council is anything like mine, she needs to be careful as whenever this kind of thing has happened locally, the council use it as a money making scheme and introduce permit parking at a ridiculous cost.

squeakytoy · 07/05/2011 15:03

It is right that the councils will not allow every house to have a dropped kerb, because then nobody would be able to park on the road at all.

AllDirections · 07/05/2011 15:03

She is BU. I hope she's not precious about her car!!

HecateQueenOfTheNight · 07/05/2011 15:04

See, this is one of those problems that happens because both parties are refusing to look at things from the other pov. she thinks they've got no rights because it's not a dropped kerb. they think that although it's not a dropped kerb they are parking and they don't want to be blocked in. She's not thinking about them and how inconvenient it is to be blocked in and they're not thinking about her having nowhere to park.

It's not about winning. It's like everyone thinks she wins if she parks there, they win if she doesn't.

It's just not worth it. It truly isn't.

nikki1978 · 07/05/2011 15:06

Cor I posted something similar to this about my house which is a semi detached on a fairly quiet road (so lots of parking) and the kerb was never dropped due to flooding problems from the hill opposite. People were constantly blocking us in even though it is a proper drive.

I got a bloody load of abuse from everyone about how selfish I was . Where were you lot then eh? EH?

HecateQueenOfTheNight · 07/05/2011 15:07

or, you know, she could sort it all out by going round with a bunch of flowers. saying "I know it's a total pain if I park in front of you, but sometimes I have no other choice. I do and always will avoid it wherever possible. Here's my phone number, call me if you need me to shift my car for you to get in or out."

Sometimes you get more by being the nicer, bigger person.

FabbyChic · 07/05/2011 15:07

everytime they drive up the kerb they are damaging it, Im sure somewhere it is an offence to park in a front garden with no dropped kerb.

Hence contact the council.

HecateQueenOfTheNight · 07/05/2011 15:08

Nikki, nikki nikki. darling.

This is AIBU.

The OP is always wrong.

SoupDragon · 07/05/2011 15:08

I suspect they don't care if she has nowhere to park because they think she should pay to have the garden paved like they did.

Yama · 07/05/2011 15:08

Agree with Fabby and your friend. These people do not own the pavement and road in front of their house.

The neighbours are being unreasonable (and arsey).

saffy85 · 07/05/2011 15:09

Your friend sounds selfish and spoilt and yes unreasonable. Why go out of your way to piss off those you live next to? She needs to get a grip.

A bit at you saying she hasn't dropped her own kerb because she wants to keep her garden. Only now ofcourse it turns out she's renting...

squeakytoy · 07/05/2011 15:10

It would be amusing if the council came along and set bollards in concrete, while these cars were on their "drives"

SoupDragon · 07/05/2011 15:10

I don't believe it is actually illegal to park on a garden with no dropped kerb but you aren't allowed to drive over the pavement without one.

Yama · 07/05/2011 15:10

Yes, I remember your thread Nikki. Everyone told you that you were breaking the law, that it was an offence to cross a pavement without a dropped kerb.

HecateQueenOfTheNight · 07/05/2011 15:11

"I don't believe it is actually illegal to park on a garden with no dropped kerb but you aren't allowed to drive over the pavement without one."

that's a bit odd, innit? How do you get the car over the pavement? carry it? crane?

SoupDragon · 07/05/2011 15:12

I don't think anyone had claimed it is legal to do it on this thread, just that is isnt very neighbourly to block someone deliberately.

SoupDragon · 07/05/2011 15:13

Well, quite, Hecate. :o You could carry it over provided it is a very small, light car. perhaps the neighbours would help.

nikki1978 · 07/05/2011 15:13

Aha so next time I will pretend to be on the other side of the argument just so people on here agree with my actual argument! Brilliant plan hecate - you are a genius!

MollieO · 07/05/2011 15:14

The council will not drop the kerb if it isn't a certain size space. Can't remember the limits but there is a road near us where some are dropped and some are not and the ones that are not were refused planning permission to drop the kerb. It may not be a straightforward issue of people being unreasonable.

If the kerb is not dropped and it is a public road then you can park there. If it is a private road you cannot.

florencedougal · 07/05/2011 15:14

extremely unreasonable, and i would be annoyed too

Well, if she wants to keep her garden she needs to pay the price and walk a bit further.

exactly!

evilgdil · 07/05/2011 15:14

your friend is not being unreasonable.
they are driving illegally when they drive across the pavement with no dropped curb.
does she do it when thier 'drive' is in use or when they are empty?

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