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.)

Just park there. The signs aren't legal ones, so I would just ignore and wait for them to confront you, because they probably will. Then just point out politely that if they are disabled, they can apply to the council for a proper marked parking bay outside their house.

Unless they've been installed by the council they're not legal. So the easiest way is to contact the council and get them to deal with it. Thus avoiding any direct confrontation.

Report it because most people will obey the sign (another sad symptom of Englishness )

I hate fuckers cheating to get their own way though

We don’t need the space but occasionally our visitors do

See, as it doesn't affect you I couldn't get fussed about it.

I'm sure your occasional visitors can just park there, and speak up for themselves, should the neighbours (assuming they're not English ) actually ask them not to.

It's totally unacceptable for people to go around putting up their own parking signs. Imagine if everyone did it?

It's particularly disrespectful to fake a disability sign.

So, no report. Go through the correct channels.

Obviously I can't speak to them about it because I'm english

Good bit of English self-deprecating humour there, OP.

I agree you should call the council - on both counts.

Just contact the local council and ask if it legit?

We had a neighbour do similar, he was scary character, had appeared on Jeremy Kyle a few times, apparently on incapacity benefits for depression but not entitled to a disabled parking bay. Someone confronted him about it, it turned ugly but then someone contacted the team who deal with disabled bays and they visited, took away the (homemade) sign and gave him an earful.

If they are disabled then council will give them advice on how to apply for a disabled space.

If the land is his, he can put a gate on it.
Not if it has a right of way running through it, he can't (as neighbours of mine found out after they'd fenced some land in and put a note through everyone's letterbox saying tough shit, it was their land and they could do what they liked with it).

If it's a sign ordered off the internet, it's obviously not legit! I'd just ring the council to be honest, the entitlement about a piece of public highway is very irritating

See, as it doesn't affect you I couldn't get fussed about it.

Yeah, it doesn't really bother me that much but it irks me when I walk past, on behalf of those people who do need to park there. And everyone is obeying the sign. I would rather die than bang on their doors and start offering help for their disability, that would be impossible. And yes, I do think that it's not right to put up fake disabled signs, although I'm only guessing that they're not entitled to them. That's why I want to sneakily take them down, a bit of guerilla social warfare.

As to the path, I need to find out whether it is a right of way or whether they own it. I suspect it's a right of way as there's a wall between it and his garden. The fucker's just put up a fence on his end next to his garage to seal it off and no-one can walk through. Again, it doesn't inconvenience me massively but it would be quicker to use it than walk around the front.

"I would rather die than bang on their doors and start offering help for their disability"

..but what if they are disabled? Would you really not offer to help them out sometimes? Or are you saying that as you are certain they are not? If you 100% know, then just park there.

Oooooh I love a good parking thread.

Carry on.

Someone in our street did this - when our visitors parked in the space the neighbour parked so he was actually touching bumbers....i think to prove a point!
Another friend of mine with a disabled child has applied for a disabled space and been declined - in the advice sheet that came with the letter it advised her to put up a sign outside her home asking the public not to park there and to leave space for a disabled resident! (She did not as doesnt want the hassle but her child is in a wheelchair).

..but what if they are disabled? Would you really not offer to help them out sometimes?

of course I'd be happy to help if they needed it and I could (I do work full time in London so I'm not actually at home all that much) but I have seen them walking, gardening, driving and they don't look in need of any help at all. I'm not 100% sure they're not disabled, of course I'm not but I would blush to my very core if I start asking them about a disability. It would feel so intrusive and practically calling them liars to their faces.

boston I'm shocked that the council told them that! it's awful. How can they advise that and at the same time not give them a disabled space - and with a child in a wheelchair too.

YANBU...but...- I'm disabled and know full well you can't do this. It might be worth speaking to them about applying for the designated space to be marked out officially. You may find they have an application pending - some councils can take up to a year to consider these type of requests.

The space, once marked out, can be parked in by anyone with a blue badge. So it still is not their space.

I'm pretty used to not being able to park where I need to. It's frustrating and maybe that's why they have gone all DIY. I had an issue where I used to live. My neighbour and I had a double width driveway that sat between our houses. A line down the middle clearly divided them. Next door would park her car so close to the line I couldn't open my door wide enough to swing both my legs out let alone get my wheelchair next to the car. I started moving the car further up the drive so that I had access. She would place her wheelie bin next to my car door. So I moved the car further down. She lined up 4 wheelie bins plus her car right next to the line and made it impossible for me to access my car without moving her bins. She then complained to the council that I moved her bins. Some people are dicks.

You don't know why they have done this. Just ask them, please don't be a dick and steal the signs.

Oooh oooh, I get to say this a lot on MN, 'Adverse Possession' !!!! Re the fence that is. If it's his land but public have right of way, he can block it but must allow access IE a gate is ok but not a fence. If it's a public right of way and it's not his land he can't block it. But if it's not anyone's land, he may be fencing it in to try to claim 'Adverse possession' after a certain period of time and have it as his own. He can only do this if no one challenges it though, so you should probably find out about that.

boston yep you have to jump through hoops to get a disabled bay marked out even if any reasonable person would agree you're clearly disabled and need it. Took my Dad years to get one.

It might be worth speaking to them about applying for the designated space to be marked out officially. You may find they have an application pending - some councils can take up to a year to consider these type of requests.

curious but why would they need a space on the road when they have three spaces on their property,and the spaces on their property would be nearer to the front door etc

imo i would not approach them,let the council look in to it

Just park in them when you need to. They have no legal weight. Bear in mind that if you get caught removing them, you could find yourself in trouble though.

you have to jump through hoops to get a disabled bay marked out even if any reasonable person would agree you're clearly disabled and need it.

We didn't have to jump through any hoops, we just provided the details of our son's Blue Badge to the council and they painted us a parking bay. No hassle.

curious but why would they need a space on the road when they have three spaces on their property,and the spaces on their property would be nearer to the front door etc

^^ this

I honestly would imagine they just don't want anyone parking in front of their house. OP, how many cars do they have?

Just had a quick look and there is no way they would get a designated space as they have off road parking. Our and the 3 neighbouring counties all say that it will only be granted if there is no off street parking available.

They have a 3 car drive, so it wont happen and they probably know that.

Eggys some county councils are better about it than others. We are on the border between 2 counties and the difference between the 2 is marked. Ours is a jump-through-hoops job, but half a mile away it is much easier as they are in the next county, despite being part of our town!

Pics or drawings on parking threads, OP. It's the law

Hate to get all "MN Rules" on you OP, but Rocky is right. :o

Diagrams must include.....your house, your parking, their house in relation to yours, their parking and the contended space plus your back garden, the path and the fence (you did that to yourself by putting 2 neighbourly disputes into one thread)!