to remove the disabled parking signs?

[DaisyBD]

I live in a small rural town and our road has no pavements and road markings. Someone has moved into a house near the end of the road that has a wide frontage with a small wall. They also have a drive with space for three cars. Many of the people in the road don’t have off-road parking, so park pretty much anywhere there’s space, including in front of this house.

The new owners have put up disabled-only parking signs along their front wall, which has stopped most people parking there. We don’t need the space but occasionally our visitors do. I have seen the new neighbours but not talked to them – we live up the road a bit so they’re not close neighbours or anything – and although I can’t see any signs of disability, I know many disabilities are invisible.

However, they have loads of space on their own drive! I think they’ve put the signs up just to stop people parking outside their house. The signs are just the ones you can buy online, there’s no council disabled white line on the road or anything.

I feel they are being selfish and hogging the road, which they don’t own. WIBU to sneak over under cover of darkness with a screwdriver and remove the signs? Obviously they’ll hate me forever if they catch me, and I don’t want to spark a feud. But it just seems a bit cheeky and I want to be cheeky back. (DH thinks I’m insane, obv.)

I might be wrong but I think even the council painted bays in private car parks / streets are a courtesy, not a law.

Putting their own sign up when they have ample parking is unreasonable though. Pop round and have a chat, mention the parking issue, you have nothing to lose.

Lovely dog, Doughnut, I do love how they lie on their backs like that. So elegant.

Cadmium it is rather outing isn’t it. I hope they’re not MNers too.

PotatoSalad I haven’t seen anyone (including them) park outside their house since they put the signs up. That’s why it makes me so cross – no-one can use the space now! They just don’t want to look at cars parked there.

Love the sign, Emma, made me lol! I’ve saved a copy.

Granny I don’t really have any claim at all to the path as I’ve never been able to use it. I feel like causing a ruckus for other people at the moment though, it’s the opposite of neighbourhood watch. A little bit of civic unco-operation.

I’ve had an email from the parking people at the local council saying it’ll take 10 days to respond and then another one saying it’s the county council’s job not theirs so they’ve forwarded. Will update in due course.

In the meantime, I’ve made this, which I’m going to put in our camper van and park next to the neighbour’s wall.

Love the blue badge op.

I think you should be the official MN illustrator.

In the meantime, I’ve made this, which I’m going to put in our camper van and park next to the neighbour’s wall

Hahahaha at the badge! Please park there with it on your car.

loving your fake blue badge :o

Daisy

Your artistic skills go from strength to strength!

Did you do it, Daisy? We need an update!

This thread has it all! - mystery, intrigue, suspense, amazingly detailed diagrams and an incredibly handsome and agile dog.

Waiting with bated breath for the next installment.

Oooh I'd forgotten about this thread.

Update please.

Hahahaha I love this thread, beat diagrams ever.

The council will remove them and fine them. Just give them a quick bell. Not a huge thing to get resolved. Also councils don't paint disabled lines anymore outside houses, at least not around here. Roads are public so regardless of access needs everyone has a right to park there.

Oops revived thread! :/ my bad.

daisy it's Sarurday night and the bloody X factor final is on soon, please save me with an update or preferably a picture!

whinnnnnnnnnnneeeeeeeee.... I need an update.
Or at least another cute dog pic.

Bumping! So intrigued by this one!

Glad to see this thread bumped, it's brill.

DAIIIIIIISSSSSSYYYYYYYYYY we need an update

If it's the neighbours who did them ignore them and park there if it's council then I'd stick to it

Northern rtft. Daisy give us an update!

Oh I'd forgotten this thread.
Please update. Don't Victorian Safe on us.

@daisybd trying out new tagging feature! Please work and give us an update.

Blatant place mark as I loved this thread.

Oh hoping for an update!

sorry! missed this - love the new tagging feature.

Right, well, on the path issue I don't think we can do anything about it. I got two emails from the Public Rights Of Way Department at the county council, including very detailed guidance on how to make a claim, which states the following:

Under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, an application for a DMMO may be made by any person wishing to claim a new public right of way or alter/ delete an existing right of way. Claims can be made on the basis of user or archive evidence, with most being supported by evidence showing uninterrupted use of the route by members of the public for a full period of 20 years.

I haven't had uninterrupted (or interrupted, for that matter) use of the route for 20 or any years so that's that, I'll have to keep walking round the long way. Although - actually - reading that again, it seems I don't need to have had use of the path, but someone does. I wonder how I find out. I would love to get it reopened.

I also had an email from someone in another department, let me look, the Highway Steward, about the disabled parking, and he says:

I can inform you that your neighbour has not approached [xx] county council regarding this issue and has no more right on parking on this part of the highway than you or any of the residents in [xx] Lane. The correct process for your neighbour to go through would be to apply for a disabled bay and in doing so fit the criteria for one to be installed.

I was hoping a council official would turn up at the house and make them take the signs down, but that doesn't sound like it's going to happen. DH accidentally knocked off one of the signs when he was walking past with the dog and it dropped back over the wall into their garden and I'm hoping he'll brush past the other one soon.

I suppose we could do it under cover of darkness, as it's hard to see if they're looking out of their windows in the daytime as they have nets and the wall is very low so they'd see us. I'm still too wussy to actually park outside their house though