neighbour opposite with no dropped kerb and parking

[annoyednow]

AIBU to be fed up that neighbour put notice on my car when I parked in front of her house with normal kerb. There was no car in their property at the time. They simply took their front wall away and paved their front garden. We still have our front wall and they park in front of our house. I am in London and parking in this area is problematic. No resident parking.

I think it needs to be a dropped kerb at road to be a legal access. Is this correct? There was no parking on my side as one of their cars was parked nearby.

Can they just take the wall away and call it a legal access or do they have to apply to council and drop kerb. TIA.

I think to block it is a bit mean on your behalf, but that said if their 'drive' is empty why have they park on the road in the first place.

i think you are right it does have to be a dropped kerb, which they will have to pay for

But I think your right with regards it being a 'legal' access point if kirb is dropped

Without a dropped kerb the Road Traffic Act won't apply I don't think.

Yes, it has to be a dropped kerb. You haven't legally done anything wrong.

But if you park there it means you are taking up 2 spaces aren't you as they can't get their car off the road?

Surely for the sake of having less cars and more parking on the road you would have been better parking elsewhere as it would mean they get their car off the road.

As far as I'm aware it's has to be a dropped curb as you say.

Cheeky gits putting a note on your car. You should post one through their door stating the Road Traffic Act

"But if you park there it means you are taking up 2 spaces aren't you as they can't get their car off the road?"

But if the OP can't park in a legitimate space because they want access to park off road, then they are taking up 2 spaces too! The difference is that the OP is parking in a part of the road intended to be used for parking.

Also, the council won't automatically give them permission to drop the kerb if it considers that the on-road parking is needed.

They are an extended family and have at least 3 cars. Sometimes they do not even park them in their driveway. Sometimes two are in front of my house. I presume I am mean to park legally on the road opposite as I cannot park near my own house. Can I just take my wall down then?

Tell the neighbour sweetly that when they stop parking in front of your house you'll stop parking in front of theirs.

Surely if parking is at a premium they should try to park one car on the drive and then block that car in with another on the road IYSWIM that would be the sensible approach on their behalf

On our London street it's dropped kerb and yellow line on road in front of dropped kerb.

I would try to avoid parking in front of their 'drive' if possible, so they can get in and out. However, if there is nowhere else to park then they have no right to expect you to not park there. Just because they've chosen to take down their wall, it doesn't automatically give them rights. You pay road tax, you can therefore park there.

I'd be cross about the note and words would be had.

panda - her parking there means they can't park on their fake drive and block themselves in.

So because she can't block them in it's better if they block themselves in as it gets one car off the street.

Our council went round inspecting houses where cars park on property with no dropped kerbs and issued fines for damage to pavements and to make them pay for the dropped kerbs! If they parked on road would need a parking permit so council don't want to lose the revenue!

If it's not a dropped kerb and there are no restrictions the OP is well within her rights to park there. She's not on dodgy ground at all - whether or not there is a car in the drive!

Yes but Laurie if they've parked outside the OP's house and have a free drive and a free space in front of their house why should the OP not park there?

I think if you are going to have 3 cars and don't have any proper off-street parking you only have yourself to blame if you struggle finding space.

OP you are quite right, and it is not fair or reasonable for them to expect a legitimate space that is supposed to be for anyone who needs it to be left free in case they want to come back. It is not their bit of road. You were reasonable, they were not.

LaurieFairyCake it doesn't get more cars off the road, if a space on their front garden means the loss of a space in front of their house. If they were allowed to get away with this it effectively just means they are being allowed to monopolise a space which they have no more right to than anyone else.

In a previous house I lived in, there was a row of three terraced houses (we were in the middle one) and enough space for three cars to park on the road. However, there was a double yellow line on the road in front of the left hand neighbour's house and a little way across some of the front of ours, and the three cars therefore went in front of the right hand side of our house, in front of the right hand neighbour and the gap between the end of the terrace and the beginning of the next row-of-three, where the free-for-all parking stopped as there were a couple of disabled-only spaces belonging to the occupants of those houses.

It was all fine for years and we easily shared the three available spaces until the right hand neighbour suddenly decided to remove the front fence and park their car on their lawn - with the gap in such a way as to remove two of the three parking spaces because it was at the half-way point between space number two and space number three.

They didn't respond well to our suggestion that this wasn't fair and we ended up having to lodge an official complaint to the council, who completely agreed with us that this behaviour wasn't on. They said that a dropped curb would be subject to planning regulations and if they applied it would probably be refused as we their neighbours would legitimately object on the grounds that it would constitute an unfair restriction on the already limited available parking.

(they ended up leaving the area not long after and were replaced by lovely people, so it was all alright in the end)

Yes it needs to be a dropped kerb to be a legal off road parking place.

One of my colleagues added to their off-road parking like this and then started freaking out when google earth showed their car on the illegal parking place, just in case a council official had spotted it
As if the council spend all day on google earth looking for people parking illegally...

Same here Milliways

People do crack and damage pavements when they drive across them and should therefore get a dropped kerb.

However, since they changed the rules here a few years back and made it so only council contractors can drop your kerb, they had the monopoly and the prices are extortionate.

This puts people off.

Why don't you contact your local authority? Tell them the exact address, set out the problem and ask for their advice. If they write saying you are entitled to park there, copy the letter (next time they put a note on your car) and put it through their letter box. Alternatively the council may visit and request them to apply for a dropped kerb. Either way, the problem should be sorted.

Not sure you can be classed as blocking someone in if they aren't meant to be there in the first place. And don't forget that pavements are meant for pedestrians and, with no dropped kerb, may not have been reinforced sufficiently to take the weight of a vehicle.

Where we live in SW London, if anyone was to pave their front garden and use it for parking without a dropped kerb the council will plant concrete bollards in front of their house to prevent them getting onto their "drive".

Should I go over when other half comes home ( have junior and can't leave now) and ask innocently why they left the note. When they say I was blocking their 'drive' I will say I'll double check with council in morning as I wouldn't like to do anything 'wrong'.

One of their cars in parked beside mine in front of my house as I write. Should I put a note on it? Crikey , there was me thinking it was a public highway.

You could leave a little note to say 'If you are going to object to me parking in front of your house, I would appreciate it if you stopped parking in front of mine.'