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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

AIBU-to think this disabled bay should not have been allocated

95 replies

parkingisnotaright · 28/05/2015 15:15

I'm a lurker who rarely posts and its my first thread, have name changed as this is fairly identifying! I also know that parking posts are particularly irritating to many, but this has been upsetting/ annoying me for almost a year. And I wish to know if I'm being unreasonable or not, and if its something I should let slide. There's a fair bit of back story to it, so be patient, I don't want to drip feed.
Bought house just over 2 years ago, neighbours across road asked us to park outside their house rather than on our side of the road, we did. Forward 18 months, and I was heavily pregnant. My DH and i discussed it and decided that we would start parking on our side of the road. Neither house opposite us has a car, one has a driveway the other does not.
We have one car, but kindly someone lent us one has I became slightly less mobile the bigger I got. At about 8 months pregnant we were in bed one morning at aprox 0930 when there was a knock at the door, DH answered and the neighbours daughter was demanding that we moved borrowed car as she had to be able to park outside her parents house. Stating that she must be able to park there as she had elderly parents, and a disabled son. I got up feeling rather furious, and went out to move the car. Outside i found her chatting to the other neighbour saying that she'd just told us that our parking wasn't on, especially with 2 cars. Her parents were already in the car, I got into the car to move it, and she drove off with her parents.
My DH and I both felt that she was bullying us, and that we would continue to park outside our house, but I continued to feel intimidated and nervous that she would come back to the door.
We had been having work done to the house and had tradesman parked outside the house for a considerable time over the summer. On two occasions that we were made aware of by two separate tradesmen, she had parked her car outside of her parents and blocked the road. On one occasion she was heard to tell another motorist that hers was a mobility vehicle and she would not be moving her car.
I was concerned for her parents wellbeing, but felt reassured when i saw them cutting the grass, walking into town and taking in the wheelie bins for all of the surrounding houses.
Fast forward to this week when we returned from holiday to find a disabled bay marked outside their house effectively meaning we can no longer park outside our house. Since we came back, her car has not been there. I have seen her parents out, and about, so no dramatic deterioration has occurred during our holiday.
Am I being unreasonable to feel that this allocated bay makes a mockery of the system, and effectively it is being used to ensure that they have a convenient family space outside their house. I know that it is a public road, and whenever her car is there usually during the school day ( whilst her son is at school) we park on the same side as she is. And am i being unreasonable to question the councils installation of the space, and whether the household merits it??

OP posts:

ButterflyUpSoHigh · 28/05/2015 16:23

YABVU the occupants of the property must be entitled to the disabled space. In my city it doesn't take months like some posters above are saying but it does require proof of disability. My parents neighbour had one put in after two weeks of applying.

MaxPepsi · 28/05/2015 16:36

OP, are your neighbours disabled or not?

Original poster

parkingisnotaright · 28/05/2015 16:40

I genuinely have no idea whether they have a blue badge or not.

OP posts:

LaLyra · 28/05/2015 16:47

Does it look like a proper disabled space?

I'd ring the council and ask them about it if it doesn't. We had one appear in our street. Caused mayhem because it as in a really stupid place. Someone complained to the council and it turned out someone had just had it painted. It was there for a good 8 months before anyone complained because people just felt that you don't get a disabled space without good reason!

MrsDeVere · 28/05/2015 16:55

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

MrsBobDylan · 28/05/2015 16:56

Unless it's a diy bb space then your neighbours are perfectly entitled to have applied for it and to use it as they see fit.

You presumably knew parking was limited when you bought the house-you don't own the space outside your house and will have to accept parking down the road or move.

Original poster

parkingisnotaright · 28/05/2015 17:13

Sorry, posted before I meant to. I don't know whether the occupiers have a blue badge or not. Sorry if i offended anyone by the suggestion that I was questioning their right to a blue badge or not. What I meant with my aside about them being out and about was due to my genuine concern for them, after their daughter was at the door. I am fully aware of unseen disabilities etc.
I would in no way be questioning this space if the residents of the house had a car. But as it stands they have no car, and the daughter visits a couple of times a week.
I guess you could say that if we had done as she'd asked back in the summer and not parked outside our house, then perhaps they would not now have the space. I have to add that we have only one car, my husband takes it to work most days and I travel about on foot with the baby. We will look into enlarging our drive entry so that it takes a car and paying the council to drop the kerb when we can afford it, but unfortunately the allocated space is across our existing narrow entry, so we're not sure permission will be granted.

OP posts:

ilovemydoggy · 28/05/2015 17:25

As much as it is annoying there's not much you can do about it. I have a bowel disease and was issued with a bb and a disabled parking space outside my house as when I need to go a toilet I have no control and if I had to drive around looking for a space which sometime could be in the next road it was often too late. Looking at me I look like a normal 34 year old and I have had people question me about it. Lucky for me my neighbours who are effected by this space are really good and totally understand. We are now looking to move and unsure if the next borough council will issue a space so that's got to be our number priority when looking for a new house that we have allocated or off street parking.

AnyoneForTennis · 28/05/2015 17:33

So the council put it in op? And it's blocking what?

Original poster

parkingisnotaright · 28/05/2015 17:45

I assume the council installed it! Just was wondering if it was unreasonable to question it. Apparently it is. I would never question a space if there was a vehicle at the property more than a couple of times a week, during the school day

OP posts:

MayPolist · 28/05/2015 17:47

YABU. You are not privy to their medical notes and so not in a position to judge.
They would not have had to take this step if you had been resonable and not demanded that your pregnancy made you unable to cross the road

Moln · 28/05/2015 17:50

I'm quite confused.

They asked you to park outside their house across the road from your house. Why??

Are these the same neighbours that now have the bb bay outside their house?

Why was it better their daughter park outside your house for her elderly parents across the road?

How does this bay prevent you from parking your car outside your house now?

I'm very discombobulated.

oddfodd · 28/05/2015 17:55

I'm really confused. You said that they asked you to park outside their house and that the DD asked you to move the car from outside their house.

And that the disabled space is blocking your entrance. How can that be?

Original poster

parkingisnotaright · 28/05/2015 17:59

So yes they initially asked we parked on their side of the road. Then we decided that when we were having baby to park on our side of road as cars were so rarely at either house across road. Road narrow so only space for parking one side of road. There is no format to which side of road people park on, past the next junction its one side then past the next the other. I guess my argument at the summer was that why should we park where they told us to when they only have visiting vehicles and we are resident in our house. And the fact our neighbours were so active vindicated my behaviour.I guess with the installation of this space which is very long it has reduced parking around area by two spaces, as its further back from a junction than their daughter previously always parked. I may just have to suck this up, mightn't I??

OP posts:

MayPolist · 28/05/2015 18:00

The way I imagine it is that they live opposite these people and the road isn't wide enough for parking at both sides.Therefore they have to both park at one side or both park at the other, so that vehicles don't have to do an impossible tight slalom.Not sure that is actually the case, but that's how I envisageds it.

CheshireCait · 28/05/2015 18:04

They have a disabled space but no car? That really is a bit odd.

MrsBobDylan · 28/05/2015 18:07

I am confused but am I right in thinking that if you park on their side of the road there was space for your car and their daughter's car but if you park on your side there is only space for one car. Pre bb bay?

yoursfan · 28/05/2015 18:13

A) The council does not give out disabled spaces unless they are applied for and needed by, y'know, a disabled person, not someone like you who's perfectly able bodied yet thinks it's an inconvenience to have to walk a few more metres.

B) If this space was truly stopping you from parking in front of your house - and I fail to see how two houses could be so narrow combined that the length of one car takes up both of them - the council would have written to you to ask if you had any objection to a bay being installed. They have to do that, you know. Ergo, this post is clearly mostly horseshit.

If you want to have a pop at disabled people because you're too lazy to walk another car length to your house, kindly do it in a better researched way next time.

AnyoneForTennis · 28/05/2015 18:15

Who is the disabled person here? I'm confused!

bostonkremekrazy · 28/05/2015 18:21

YANBU
i would call the council and let them know there is no car at the address. it may be daughter has told a few fibs about the blue badge holder, council may think daughters disabled child lives at the address, or may think the couple are disabled and need the space.
of course the couple may need the space and it may be all in order. a phone call won't hurt.
where i work all it takes is a few phonecalls and 1 piece of paperwork, and a disabled bay can be installed within a few weeks for our clients.
a blue badge can be arranged within 2 weeks - and for a 12 month badge a photo is not even needed.

TedAndLola · 28/05/2015 18:21

I don't think the OP is having a pop at disabled people. She's confused as to why there's a disabled space for a household with no car, that's only used by an able-bodied person a few times a week.

I think only the council can give you your answer, OP. All posters here can do is speculate.

MrsBobDylan · 28/05/2015 18:30

I think bb holders are entitled to apply for a bay outside their house even if they are not car owners.It enables taxis and carers to pick them up and drop them off.

I also think op didn't explain why they first parked on the other side of the road at the neighbours request because it would have revealled that by choosing to park on her side, there was only one space, whereas there was a two car space if they parked on the neighbours side.

You kinda shot yourself in the foot op and now have no choice as they have a bb bay.

Daimgirl · 28/05/2015 18:34

I'd question it. Purely because of something that happened recently.

Where I live there a mix of terraced houses that have a drive, some that don't ,flats with allocated parking, free for all parking and then there's a semi circle of houses around a lovely little green with some well established trees that the council maintain.

About 9 months ago a disabled bay appeared. Couple of us commented, because it was blocking the access to the green, but assumed that because there was already a dropped kerb there it was cost cutting.

last month, one of the council guys was knocking on all the doors asking if we knew who owned the car, we're all a bit bemused saying its a Disabled bay you must have records. .

Fake site.

Car ended up been towed.

Poor bugger who owned the car was renting a flat, didn't understand the rules about disable bays , was told by the landlord that the bay 'belonged' to the flat. And he was paying extra for it as the LL had said he could rent the parking space out.

There are some cheeky fuckers about.

Rainbow · 28/05/2015 18:41

I would check. Someone down our road did a DIY job. Looked real but something niggled a neighbour and he contacted council. It was burnt off in a day.

murmuration · 28/05/2015 18:41

I'm confused - what side of the street is the disabled bay on? Your side or their side? (And am I right that the two houses are across from each other?)

If it's on their side, why couldn't you drop the curb on your side -- surely that wouldn't interfere?

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