To still park here?

[MissJSays]

Basically there is no parking at my university. To get a permit to park in the uni car park costs just under £700 a year. There is a church down the road from the campus which has a car park, me and 2 of the other girls park there for 3 hours 2 days per week. Today I was leaving when a woman came out of the church and said 'you can't park here because you're not part of the church.' I said 'oh right' she went on to say 'because I know you do it all the time.' She said it in such a rude and patronising tone but I was caught off guard with a million bags in my hand so didn't have much to say back.

What are the rules, who owns churches? Are they owned by the council? If so am I allowed to park there? There are no signs there at all relating to parking, nothing saying you can or cannot park there.

I'll also add in 3 years at uni she is the only person I've ever seen anywhere near the church, it always seems closed.
Any advice would be much appreciated!

Yes, churches are fair game for some posters. I wonder if their reaction would have been the same if OP had parked in a mosque's car park. Actually the homeless shelter near me has an extremely handy car park, right in the city centre. And it's not as if the occupants are likely to have cars, is it?!

Also at poster trumpeting about wealth of church. My salary has bugger all to do with whether I would or should allow someone to park on my drive !

I used to work at a university, one of the things I used to deal with was complaints re students parking. Funny enough parking in church car parks was a big one . Some churches had the room, it didn't impact on them so they didn't mind. Others - it did have a big impact on. The students weren't aware of it because of the time they parked there but it had a knock on effect later in the morning especially with baby groups, toddler groups, support groups - people who were actually using the church and the hall.

Of course you shouldn't continue to park there. You've chanced your arm up to now, it's worked, you've now been asked to stop - have a titter of wit. The churches I dealt with that did have problems with the parking ended up putting up a timed barrier that was open in the mornings but then shut from 10.30 or so - you had to call in to get them to open it. Apparently the students whose cars were in the car park at that time were very inconvienced when they couldn't get their cars out.

In 35 years of driving I have never had the nerve to park on someone else's private property (unless of course it is a public car park or a property I am legitimately visiting). I cannot believe how many threads I read on Mumsnet about 'entitled' parking.

It is a Church car park for users of the Church OP. Find somewhere else to park.

So a boast about parking on private property turns into a discussion of the (alleged) wealth of the Church?

Only on MN!

We live by a church and many people use the car park. If there is something on, wedding, funeral, they put cones out. There is a sign stating that it is the property of the church and for the use of church goers but it does not state any other restrictions. I have never come across anyone telling people to move on other than when a burger van parked there and served burgers all day in the summer (lovely for weddings...) and the vicar came down and told them to move at the end of the day and they actually kicked off.

It is however the property of the church and if they wish to impose restrictions they probably have to put a sign up but I cannot see it be policed easily.

It is however the property of the church and if they wish to impose restrictions they probably have to put a sign up but I cannot see it be policed easily.

But they shouldn't have to impose restrictions. It is private land and very evidently so. It is assumed you have no right to park there unless for legitimate reasons relating directly and currently to the owner of the land.

This thread is full of quite bizarre opinions. It doesn't matter if it is a church or a pub. It doesn't matter if the church is skint or rolling in wonga. It doesn't matter if other parking options are expensive or public transport is inconvenient. It doesn't matter if you pop into the church for 5 minutes, that doesn't entitle you to park there all day. It doesn't matter if the car park is empty or if they might have a funeral later on. All that matters is it is private property, it is very clearly private property and anyone with half a clue should know that you don't have a god-given (pun intended) right to park there just because they don't have a sign up.

Basically there is no parking at my university. To get a permit to park in the uni car park costs just under £700 a year. There is a church down the road from the campus which has a car park, me and 2 of the other girls park there for 3 hours 2 days per week.

You must have realised on some level that this wasn't ok, because if what you were doing was absolutely fine why did you think anyone was paying £700 instead?

BTW if you and your 2 friends are all rich enough to be students with their own cars why can't you separately or car share to pay to park in a NCP or likewise car park and get the bus to Uni

I'm not sure quite what TENSHI is on about. There is no secret about the church commissioners and what the value of the CofE's holdings are. And the return on those holdings generates about 25% of their funding, with most of the rest coming from people attending church. If they sell off holdings to meet costs then long term they won't have as much income. It's not complicated. None of this is relevant to someone parking on private property without asking though.

And the way things end up if the OP is regularly parking there then others will begin to cotton on too. Soon the car park will be full all the time. Then the church would end up putting barriers in or employing car management companies to issue tickets etc.

Are you by any chance from central Scotland. This sounds like our uni with a church car park along the road. Then again there might be loads.
Our one is a very big and quiet car park, but maybe should email in and ask if it's ok. Nothing to lose!

You must have realised on some level that this wasn't ok, because if what you were doing was absolutely fine why did you think anyone was paying £700 instead?

I love it when someone thinks they've found a very clever 'loophole' to solve a problem that everyone else deals with via the proper procedures

Obviously everyone else was either a) too stupid to realise that they could park on someone else's private property and save themselves £700 per year or b) had lots of spare cash that they needed rid of and purchasing a parking permit was the best use of this they could come up with.

I do care, which is why I've bothered to ask. If I was selfish and entitled I would have continued to park there even after being told not to.

Fidelia I wish they were shopping bags! More like hand bag, laptop case, and bags of heavy books.

Today I drove most of the way there and parked on my friends drive (with her full permission of course!) We then got the bus together to uni. Worked out well, the bus ride was only about 20 mins long and it stops right outside uni.

Nope, I'm in England Hanban😊

Sounds like a good option OP.

It's private land, and you don't know when it will be needed.

YABU but because you didn't know rather than because you were being deliberately U, by the sound of it. Agree with knocking on one day and asking the vicar for permission. Otherwise maybe drive somewhere near and walk or park near the last stage of public transport and just take that one bus?