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.)

Our council seem to paint them in whenever requested - my next door neighbour has a disabled space, and did ask me if I'd be bothered if they requested it, as it would be in front of my house as well, by about a foot. (No, doesn't bother me. I think I'm lucky if I get to park in the same street most days.) There's another further down the road on the other side.

They did remove a third one in the street when someone moved out. There are still ghostly reminders of the paint.

So yes, I'd start with the council.

Daisy do you own your house or rent? As far as I'm aware patch managers deal with all things ob their 'patch'. We've got land behind us that was sectioned off, by the council, now people are flytipping on it. My NDN is privately rented and I'm council. They asked my NDN LL to clear up the flytipping on their land they sectioned off! needless to say they got told where to jog on! Anyway, I digress, if you get hold of the patch manager/council, they should be able to work out who the land belongs to and it may be worth enquiring with planning permission if said neighbour was allowed to put the gate up.

If the disabled signs aren't done by the council I'd doubt very much they are valid anyway but OP like I said people get very possessive. I still cant believe one of my neighbours was trying to cause an argument with paramedics at 5am in the morning for daring to park in the only space they could in an emergency (outside his house). I mean if you see two fast response cars and an ambulance turn up and you can't work out it's a bloody emergency there's no helping that person really.

A word of advice I was given by my patch manager recently, mainly because they've had a spate of incidents where people have been as nice as pie to neighbours faces but they can and do twist everything you've said never approach the neighbours yourself, let them deal with it.

If it was a cut through to the woods you walk your dog on, it does sound like a public right of way initially. Definitely check with patch manager / council people, if it isn't his land he cant just section it off like he has.

Oh please do report them to the council. If you do your plan, what's to stop them buying new ones and replacing them? Nothing. It's a minor inconvenience to them. If you report them, and they shouldn't have the signs, then it should put a stop to it.
Ditto the man with his possibly illicit fence.

I would make a really shitty disabled badge in biro and park there!

Pen
And OP you need to post a photo

The signs have no legal status on a public highway. Disabled parking bays when marked out by the local authority outside someone's home are, but, it means anyone with a blue badge can park in that bay not just the homeowner or their visitors.

Definitely get official advice on the fence.
That could affect the value of your house.

Lol at home made Blue Badge.

People like this piss me off. Any form of greedy territorial behavior is anti social but fake use of disabled signs undermines the currency of them for genuine disabled users. Selfish people.

I would find a way to chat to them, then say 'are you waiting for an official council bay? I'll watch out for the consultation notice." Then if they prevaricate say 'oh I see, so it is actually public road, that's ok then, I don't need to warn delivery drivers not to stop there'

and then do as much online shopping as possible

DaisyBD 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 have spoken with Public Rights of Way Officers at a few local councils in the last year or so; and to a person, they have all been extremely helpful and informative. There will be a PROW map available which shows you all the ROW in your area too, so you can check your fenced off pathway.

I asked about a random gate on a track I'd tried to get down, and I could practically hear the Officer pushing back his chair and putting his coat on to check as he was very cross someone was illegally blocking a PROW!

I hope this makes things clearer. Fortunately for me under mn rules I can get both disputes on the same diagram. Photos to follow when i'm at home (obviously at the moment I'm very busy at work). Just realised that I forgot to draw in the signs but they are on the wall in front of the blue house.

Also I may have exaggerated for effect the inconvenience of not using the path but we only use our back gate and back door, particularly if coming and going with a muddy dog. Plus it's the principle of the thing, like the disabled signs. I want to strike a blow for justice and fairness.

We couldn't get a disabled bay at our old house (no drive) as our next door neighbours went against the application. She openly admitted to me it was because my car was 'too high' (it was a small mpv) and she couldn't see out the window to across the street if she was in the basement. I used to sometimes have to park streets away. It was an absolute nightmare. That woman boiled my piss.

Op, I'd just tell the LA about the signs and the fence.

Love your dog on the map, very detailed!

Cheeky sods! Surely disabled parking signs are for things like small business car parks, not just annexing a bit of the public road.

OP ten points for your diagram. Lovely work.

Rule 2 of parking threads is always update the parking thread. Personally I vote report to the council, but whatever you do, do come back and tell us

Strike a blow for muddy dogs, I'd report the blocking of the path and the signs, then see what happens. Good picture by the way.

Very impressed with the dog on the map. Slightly disturbed tat no-one is following him/her with a plastic bag. I am sure this is an oversight, die to you being at work and pressed for time etc.

Report EVERYTHING to the council (If you take this diagram please remember to point out that you are in the trees picking up after said dog, and that's why it appears to be running free. These bureaucratic types will use any excuse not to have to get off their lazy arses out of their offices.

*that (and further on in that sentence) due, not tat and die

Clearly the dog's needs must be put first, over cheekyfecker neighbour's wish to have a fence! I have consulted the WolefGeniusDogs, and they agree.

And I love your handwriting, Daisy.

Is the dog to scale? It'd be a bloody big dog.

Loving the diagram, everyone agreed YANBU anyway but now it's YADDDNBU (you are definitely definitely definitely not being unreasonable)

First of all, excellent diagram. Cute dog.
Do your other two neighbours have access to the path, a bit of neighbourly solidarity could be called for in a joint letter to the council.

If they don't and are not bothered and the council don't come through I think I would put in my own gate ( at about the a in path) because this would probably inconvenience garage owning gate man more than his gate is inconveniencing you. But I think he is on a stealth mission to annex the entire path.
I see the disabled /entitled neighbours are Porsche and BMW drivers, I love it when people live up to their stereotypes, it makes me feel that despite recent upheavals the world is still chuntering on in the same old way.

What car does gateman protect? (Hoping for another BMW, or a precious over polished Jag)

Yes to putting a fence at your end of the path. Instant dog run for when you don't have time to get to the woods!

ok so I have had a look at the iMap (seriously) on the local council's website and I'm pretty sure the path is meant to be a right of way. There's an online reporting facility which I got to the end of before discovering they want photos. I feel a picture would support my complaint so I'll wait to submit until I've taken some pictures (hopefully without the fence owner noticing).

About to investigate whether I can snitch on the disabled notice neighbour online too, will report back.

And I love your handwriting

Thank you kindly, Wolef

I hesitated to specify what cars the disabled neighbours drove, viques, I didn't want to imply that you couldn't be disabled and drive a porsche. I got carried away with the diagram.

Does your diagram not count as a picture just comment saying it was good enough for mumsnet

Report to the council

for those that are worried about my dog pooing in the woods