Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

It's a parking one - with diagram!

36 replies

eatmytoast · 12/04/2018 17:07

It's a good old parking one!

Il start by saying we live on a very narrow road, with NO pavements.

We have a driveway and the houses opposite us do not.

The house opposite to the right parks her car on the road outside her house, this is fine, I can reverse my car onto my drive.

However - new neighbour has moved into the house opposite and to the right. They have also started parking their car outside their house (previous owner parked hers down the road)

Now as you can see from the diagram this makes it impossible to reverse onto my drive, I can go in forwards however then I would have to reverse back off and my next door neighbour has an 8ft bush so I literally cannot see a thing whilst reversing off!

New neighbours opposite haven't actually moved in - they're just there doing work on the house but every time they've been there they park outside.

I've just got back and they could clearly see me struggling and ended up having to go on forwards as I was holding up cars.

I should also say my husband will also have to park on the drive and with my car now on there, there is no way he will be able to get on.

Do I politely knock on the door and explain the problem, I really don't want to be THAT neighbour that causes problems before they've even moved in!!

It's a parking one - with diagram!
OP posts:
scurryfunge · 12/04/2018 17:11

Your diagram makes it look like no vehicle could drive through the lane at all.if so they are obstructing the highway.

Original poster
eatmytoast · 12/04/2018 17:13

To be fair that's just my crap diagram! Cars can get through but it's a squeeze, nobody drives down this road more than 15mph because of how tight it is!

OP posts:
blueskyinmarch · 12/04/2018 17:14

I would go and speak to them. You can only ask but i guess they are not obliged to comply.

scurryfunge · 12/04/2018 17:15

If everything is legal but just inconsiderate then maybe you could see about getting permission for a mirror in the road to assist you.

arethereanyleftatall · 12/04/2018 17:16

You can say something as this seems an easily fixable problem. They just need to park a few further metres down. ' Please could you...

DairyisClosed · 12/04/2018 17:17

I would ask very nicely. And bring a bottle of wine with to welcome them to your street first.

IndianaMoleWoman · 12/04/2018 17:18

Where would you like them to park? There’s no way I’d park up the road when there’s space outside my house just to make it easier for someone else to get on their drive.

Doje · 12/04/2018 17:18

They probably don't realise they're making it awkward for you. Next time they're there, go over with a cuppa and a biscuit and let them know it makes things tricky for you.

Original poster
eatmytoast · 12/04/2018 17:18

Yes parking a few meters back would be ideal then we can still swing the cars in.
Husband won't be able to get into the drive at all with the way the cars are parked.

Mirror is a good idea thank you

OP posts:
lljkk · 12/04/2018 17:18

Do the neighbours(with blocking cars) have own driveways? Could you park your car on road in front of their homes to make the point that you can't use your drive?

Given you can't see safely to reverse car onto the road, something has to give. Neighbour cut down the hedge or you ask the others to move cars.

ZibbidooZibbidooZibbidoo · 12/04/2018 17:20

Yes, ask very nicely if they could leave a bit of space for your cars to get on and off the drive. Nothing to lose by asking.

Star8818 · 12/04/2018 17:21

Yes I would use it as a first come first serve basis. They have a space outside their house and you have one outside yours. If they are in that space could you not park down the road as the old neighbours use to? If they are not there then you can park on your drive as you used to as I’m imaginging come out is okay it is just reversing in that’s he issue?

Original poster
eatmytoast · 12/04/2018 17:22

Indiana it's not about making it easier, we cannot get both cars on our drive whilst they're parked like that. It's impossible.

IIlk no they don't have drives, and I really don't want to make things awkward by parking outside their house to prove a point.

I might take a card and a bottle and explain the problem. I don't expect them to park down the road but if they moved it back a few meters as suggested then that could work (however that would cause the problem for next door)

OP posts:
Original poster
eatmytoast · 12/04/2018 17:26

Star I don't have space outside mine - I have a drive, they are in the road. One of reasons we bought he house is because it has a drive, that I would like to use Grin

OP posts:
IndianaMoleWoman · 12/04/2018 17:29

Where did the previous owner park, if it didn’t cause a problem for your other neighbours with their drive?

Original poster
eatmytoast · 12/04/2018 17:34

Indiana - about 20 meters down the road there is a hill with no houses, and it's a really wide part of the road, previous neighbour parked there along with everyone else that cannot park outside their houses.

I'm going to pop round with a bottle and a nice card tomorrow

OP posts:
PlausibleSuit · 12/04/2018 17:36

I assume that asking if your NDN would prune their plant so you can see better isn't an option.

The trouble is, they're not breaking the law and it's not unreasonable to want to park outside their own house.

What's at the left and right edges of your drive? Is it gardens or land, or is it house? Can you reverse in, but at a different angle? So you take a shallow angle to begin with, while you're on the road, but then swing wider as you enter so you end up parked on the right-hand side of your drive (i.e. on your diagram where it says 'drive', not where it says 'my').

I don't think you'd be unreasonable to mention the issue to your opposite neighbours, and see if there's an obvious compromise, but I would imagine you won't get much of a response. They'll just see that you have a drive, and they don't, and they're just trying to park outside their own home. Being asked by someone who has a drive to permanently park their car away from their own home might seem a bit rich (to them - I can see your problem).

viques · 12/04/2018 17:39

From the new neighbours point of view you are just trying to make your problem their problem. if someone asked me to park 20 meters down the road in exchange for a bottle of champagne I would laugh. You need to be upping the offer, a crate of champagne every week and I might be open to discussion.

Quartz2208 · 12/04/2018 17:40

Yes no one is being unreasonable - both the neighbours want to park outside their house, you would like two cars parked on your drive. But why should the new person automatically make their life harder?

SD1978 · 12/04/2018 17:41

20 meters? That's a pretty significant distance to park. All the best, but no, I doubt I'd be willing to accomodate that. The other neighbour gets to park outside their house, and have a big bush, and me as the new owner to the street has to schlep 20 sodding meters to accomodate you. I would hope that we could share the wine and say hello, but I wouldn't be happy to make that accomodation I'm afraid.

Cuppaoftea · 12/04/2018 17:42

I think you should at least wait until they've moved in.

If doing work on the house they're likely arriving with materials/paint/tools/cleanibg equipment etc to unload? It would be a no from me if a neighbour asked me to lug that up the hill for their convenience when I was legally parked.

I think you're being unreasonable in basically going round to move along a bit to cause a problem for the next neighbour anyway.

If I was the new neighbours I'd continue to park outside my house, you can get a mirror for reversing out as pp suggested, get both cars in when they aren't parked there and park one of yours down the hill on an occasional basis.

Original poster
eatmytoast · 12/04/2018 17:47

Viques, a crate of champagne to open discussions Grin i like it.

Your all right, ( of course! Hence why I love MN)!
I suppose if it was the other way round I would want to park outside my house too!
Totally get it

OP posts:
TheDailyMailLovesTheEUReally · 12/04/2018 17:50

Normally I'd be in full support of an OP in a parking sitch as I love a good parking thread! However in this case I think YAB a bit U. If there are no restrictions on the road then they are parking legally and if you can still get on and off your drive then they aren't doing anything wrong. In their shoes I wouldn't want to be parking 20m away from my front door if there was perfectly legal on street parking right outside.

I do appreciate the difficulties of having tight access on to your drive, but you have to work with what you have got - and appreciate that your neighbours have just as much right to make use of legal parking spaces as you do accessing your drive. Access to my drive is quite tight and reversing between my neighbours cars to get on it, can be very tricky - and there have been times when I have had to go in 'nose' first. I'm changing my car to something a bit smaller and more compact which will make it easier to get on and off.

BewareOfDragons · 12/04/2018 17:51

Ask them not to prevent you using your drive.

If they refuse, park there yourself refuse to move.

TheDailyMailLovesTheEUReally · 12/04/2018 17:51

Oh and I have caved in and made sure that the new car has reversing cameras and parking sensors on it - DH's car has them and they are an absolute godsend in situations like this where every millimetre of space counts!!