Caravan and van parking in front of my house - AIBU

[ejk10]

Another parking thread!! I live in a small Close with 12 houses. The cul de sac is designed to have overflow parking spaces in 2 area - but everyone has their own drive and garage. The house opposite me keeps his caravan constantly on the overflow parking area - and has done for over 12 months now. He also has a large van and his partner has a car. He parks his van on the overflow parking area all the time too. However, there are times when he can't fit all his van on the parking area and it juts out into the road - making it difficult to pass. On Friday eve there was no way an emergency vehicle would have got to the other houses in the Close as the gap left was far too narrow. Yesterday he moved the caravan for a few hours and it was so nice to look out of my window and not feel I was living on a garage showroom forecourt! I have provided photos for you to look at (all taken from my drive or from inside my house) AIBU to ask him to park his caravan and van somewhere else??

Check your deeds. Is it overflow parking? Is there roadway it could be parked on, maybe either side of your drive if he gets irate?

The caravan would mildly annoy me. But the van making it difficult to park/turn or impossible for 999 vehicles would bloody irritate me. YANBU re the van.

Some housing estates have clauses in the deeds to stop people having caravans/large camper vans on their drives unless for packing or unpacking. Do you know if there's any such clause in your deeds?

If not, not much you can do.

The van I'm not sure you can do anything about except ask him not to park it there if emergency vehicles can't access the street. The caravan is a different matter. That shouldn't be there. I don't know what but I'm sure there must be some rule about this or there would be caravans parked everywhere right, left and centre. and if the caravans gone there would be room for his van

I'd be really annoyed about this.

i'd send those pictures and a letter to the council. Two reasons, firstly if he knows it's you it could turn nasty or into an ongoing dispute which you just don't need. Secondly, a letter from the council setting out the trouble emergency services would have getting to the houses and demanding his caravan doesn't overhang into the road would probably be more effective than a neighbour having a moan.

Best of luck and YANBU.

It seems the caravan shouldn't be on the road unless it is facing in the direction of traffic and lit at night I can't quote the law at you but do a quick google yourself. I did, and found all these sites:

www.practicalcaravan.com/forum/technical/25135-is-it-legal-to-park-your-caravan-on-the-road
www.askthe.police.uk/content/q629.htm
www.ukcampsite.co.uk/chatter/display_topic_threads.asp?ForumID=8&TopicID=329938

Parking thread

Parking thread

I am not sure that is even a spot is it - looks like an area to separate road from parking. Either way both vehicles are obstructing. Think I would be sending photos to council and letting them deal

I wonder why he thinks people spend a small fortune keeping their caravans stored over the winter. I guess it doesn't affect him since he's getting it for free.

That would irritate the bejeezus out of me op

Well that van is clearly taking the piss! It's not even parked on the overflow space it is on the road at an angle. That's not legal surely!

Check the deeds would be my first port of call.

Cheeky bastard, that would drive me crazy. I hate works vans when not on the owners drives anyway, it's so rude to think that somebody else wants to look at a blinking great van. I would try and have a word.

YY to checking your deeds. We are not allowed to keep caravans or work vans in out estate. People do flout these rules but they are done with consideration

Rubs hands with glee please do email the council your photos, and then update us!

Someone on one of those links got it removed by saying the caravan was an abandoned vehicle.

The minute his moves off the overflow parking go and park your car on there.

We have a caravan and parked it in our street for 10 days between 2 trips we'd planned .... it was in a corner, not in anyone's way. We got a letter pushed through our door from the local council to say we have to remove our caravan within 14 days otherwise they would take possession of it and destroy it! They said fixed structures were not allowed on a public highway!

So my guess would be the owner wouldn't be allowed to permanently store the caravan there. I'd contact the local council.

*he

The trouble is that it's in what looks like a parking space rather than on the public highway, so the council might not be able to help. But it's worth a try.

Def contact the council. I would be really cross about the caravan - cheeky so and so!

He's very cheeky and foolish to park his £6k minimum caravan there without locking stumps etc in front of it. That's public (well residents) parking not for him to monopolise as his personal space. If he parks it on his driveway that's upto him and unless blocking your window or light it's not on to moan about that but on the shared spaces he's being very cheeky and id report to council,he's a prat anyway as his insurance won't cover it parked on the street like that! Caravan theft is absolutely rife

In the sense of fairness, I'd be equally annoyed by both!

Why wouldn't he put the van on his drive?

As for the caravan, I'm sure they can't just be parked up where you feel like it!

Can you even have them on your own drive permanently?

At least the van is taxed. Surely you can't just dump any old large item on a public parking space?

Good luck OP. We're having similar problems with several minbuses and vans at the moment.

Neither the council or traffic management were interested. I asked them if I could have that in writing for when there will be an inevitable accident

We were cokint home from school oje egeking in a taxi and the the taxi was a minbus. It literally had to stop dead in the middle of the road as he had nowhere to park on either side and we had to get out there and then. But that's okay though because his several bloody cars and vans and minibuses (all belong to the same house) are legally parked