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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Who is BU? A parking one

77 replies

WhenIWasAYoungWarthog · 19/09/2018 21:41

I’m currently having issues with neighbours blocking me in my drive. House number 2 has recently had their front garden turned into a drive with a dropped curb. The road is a cul-de-sac and the 3 houses have a garage at the end of the road (pink on the diagram but I only drew 2 rather than 3). House 2 owns a window cleaning business so they wanted a drive so they could fill up their vans with water easily from their house. However, they have 2 vans and insist on parking the second one in front of their dropped curb. The yellow bit is the gate into my drive. It’s a big stone wall either side of the gate so no chance of coming out at an angle.

It’s a narrow road and a struggle to get 2 cars past each other at the best of times. Neighbour claims he’s allowed to park there as the council wouldn’t have approved a dropped curb if there wasn’t room to park in front of it. No idea if this is true and googling it doesn’t really give me much! He’s getting really stroppy every time I ask him to move and has suggested I park in his garage. But I want to use my drive! He’s making out that I’m just being pathetic and the only reason I can’t get out is because I’m a bad driver and it’s my own fault for insisting on having a massive car (a Prius so hardly a massive Range Rover or something).

My house is a lot older than the 3 on the other side and he’s arguing because I don’t have written proof that my drive is legal then he’s doing me a massive favour by letting me out of my own drive.

Aibu? If not, is there any regulations anywhere that I can quote at him? I keep telling him it’s illegal to block someone onto their drive but he just keeps saying that I don’t have a real drive as I haven’t applied for a dropped curb from the council. My house is 300 years old. As far as I can tell the gates to my drive have always been the entrance way. I’m not sure you had to apply for approval in the 1700’s.

OP posts:

Cuttingthegrass · 20/09/2018 13:15

How bloody annoying. He’s an arse. I totally understand how you need the width of the road to manoeuvre out of your drive. Don’t have any advice I’m afraid

Satsumaeater · 20/09/2018 13:23

Not sure what you can do other than keep denting his van until he moves it ;)

Presumably if you need to go out now he's there, so you can ask him to move?

As someone said above, reverse in so you can drive out, you should be able to manage the manoevre then.

londonmummy1966 · 20/09/2018 13:33

Does your council have guys on mopeds who will come and impose a ticket for parking across a dropped curb? I had this last summer with a CF from a film company who refused to move from across by dropped curb as "there' no yellow line" and the council sent out moped man to ticket him - sadly he moved as soon as he saw the bike coming!

TwoWitTwoWoo · 20/09/2018 13:34

Well I didn't know that I shouldn't be parking in front of my own dropped kerb. That's an eye opener.

Scotinoz · 20/09/2018 13:49

I sympathise with you. I frequently have people parking opposite my driveway, and it's a flipping arse to get out. I have a wagon with a horrendous turning circle, and wouldn't stand a chance if I drive out nose first.

Anyway, as others have said, it is illegal for your neighbour to park across his own dropped kerb, so I'd report him on a daily basis.

I found the local council to be pretty helpful with our driveway access issues, so they're worth a call. It's hard to give a definitive answer without knowing exact how your 'drive' and the cul-de-sac road are defined.

Hissy · 20/09/2018 13:50

report the twat to the water co.
WAR is declared

Original poster

WhenIWasAYoungWarthog · 20/09/2018 14:34

Absolutely no chance of getting out either forwards or reversing while he’s there unfortunately. The gates are about two inches wider than my car so I have to tuck my wing mirrors in as it is.

OP posts:

19lottie82 · 20/09/2018 14:37

The water company will not care. Don’t do that, you’ll just waste your time.

RiddleyW · 20/09/2018 14:44

People are so ridiculous- I can’t imagine parking so I was blocking my neighbour in.

Original poster

WhenIWasAYoungWarthog · 20/09/2018 16:38

I know riddley, I just don’t get it. I’m perfectly nice and friendly (I think so anyway!), our dc’s are in the same class at school, his wife attends the same sports group that I do. It just makes everything so awkward and uncomfortable when he’s being openly hostile towards me for no apparent reason. My dh works away mon-fri and he only does this during the week. At weekends when my (massive, miserable looking) dh is here he’s all friendly and parks his spare van in the garage. Prick.

OP posts:

DeathyMcDeathStarFace · 20/09/2018 19:28

You need to report him to as many people as you can find to report him to.

Council for parking,

Water company for filling up vans from home, they will more than likely be bothered about it if he is not paying business rates, get someone there to check it out. (There will be a big difference in his business and domestic rates),

Council - if he is running a business from home get them to check he is paying business rates for council tax etc. If his bins are collected at the same time as everyone else's by the same bin wagon he might not be paying business rates.

Is there a way to check what regulations he has to follow if running a business from home? Often there are rules about not causing problems for neighbours with parking, noise nuisance etc.

I remember a thread within the last couple of years about a poster coming home early from work as they were ill only to find a strange car parked on their drive. Turns out a (obnoxious) neighbour over the road was running a dog grooming business from home, part of the conditions was about not causing problems for neighbours parking wise. Because the road was full he'd told the clients they could park on the posters drive. He still did it after being told not to. Eventually the council withdraw the permission to trade from home, he closed the business and ended up moving.

If your neighbour is not running a business from home they should not be using their domestic water supply and should not be parking a commercial vehicle on the road afaik. They should apply for a license to do so, part of which will probably be to follow certain guidelines.

If they are registered as running a business from home they should have regulations they need to follow. If parking is not included in that then you can complain and see if you can apply to have it put in.

You could report him for everything you can think of if you think he's not doing it correctly/lawfully, or you or your dh (depending on who he'd be more responsive to) could discuss it with him. Ask about how you get permission to run a business from home, permit for parking/what commercial vehicles can be parked without permits, etc. If it looks like he's not doing things correctly you/dh can use it for leverage and drop into conversation that you'd not report possible problems if he'd stop blocking you in if you're willing to go that route.

Personally I would want the business checked out if there were any doubts about how it was being run, if he's cutting corners/not paying what he's supposed to for one thing it is likely there are other things not being done correctly. If so, if he has business insurance (might need checked out too), and he has an accident that affects you or his neighbours, if it is considered to be because he wasn't doing something correctly the insurance might not pay out.

It might 'just' be a simple parking/disrespect problem, there might be many other things wrong under the surface though.

brummiesue · 20/09/2018 19:41

Im getting the rage just reading this!! Everything deadlymcdeath has said to do - do!!!!!

Original poster

WhenIWasAYoungWarthog · 20/09/2018 21:08

I didn’t know he couldn’t fill up his vans from home, thanks for that. I’ve googled his business and it seems to be registered at an industrial estate accross town. It’s a window and gutter cleaning business, I can’t imagine why it would need any offices or anything. I would feel really bad if their business got into trouble though as his wife and son are lovely. It’s just him that’s being a git.

Good news is that dh has messaged me to say he’ll be home later tonight rather than tomorrow evening. Twatty over the road is still parked in front of his precious dropped kerb so dh won’t be able to get onto the drive. It’s pissing it down with rain, dh will have been driving for 4 hours and it will be about midnight. I don’t really want to go over and plead with him to move so I’m going to be a wimp and leave it for dh to deal with.

OP posts:

ChasedByBees · 20/09/2018 21:14

We’ve had dropped kerb issues before. No one can park over them so he is parking incorrectly.

GabriellaMontez · 20/09/2018 21:15

I'd have a chat with 111. Someone on here had a similar problem recently and they had a firm word about not being a total bell end.
He's a bully.

Nanasueathome · 21/09/2018 09:13

Don’t call NHS for this, call 101 for police

DangletitsMcDougal · 21/09/2018 09:19

AND... What happened???

Racecardriver · 21/09/2018 09:22

By the sounds of it the person you need to report him to is his wife. He's or a parking twat. He dislikes you and is doing this to bully you for some reason.

RhythmStix · 21/09/2018 09:30

Give as an update OP - did your dh give moron neighbour a right good wigging?

FullOfJellyBeans · 21/09/2018 09:31

At least in my area you can be issued with a ticket for parking over a dropped curve but the council will only send parking attendants out (or the parking attendants they do send out will only bother to ticket you) if someone has made a particular complaint about a particular dropped kerb. That was they tend to turn a blind eye to people who park over their own dropped kerb (it's a wide road so never causes an issue).

I would just ring up the council and ask.

FullOfJellyBeans · 21/09/2018 09:32

*kerb not curve!

StressedMum18 · 21/09/2018 10:54

Not sure if a similar situation, but a friend of mine constantly has issues with people blocking her in her drive as she lives near a major hospital. Each time it happens she calls the police, and they tow the cars away as she has a right to get off her property.
Not sure if they could do the same for you?

Original poster

WhenIWasAYoungWarthog · 21/09/2018 12:48

Dh parked in number 2’s garage last night. He didn’t want to wake up twatty’s wife and dc by banging on the door. The car had been moved when we got up at 7ish this morning which is unusual, he usually drops his dc to school in the can so doesn’t move until 8.45ish. Dh is going to go round and speak to him tonight, with a copy of the original house plans from 1750’s showing that the gate and drive have always been there. He’s also going to tell Twatty that every time he blocks me in/ out the police will be called. They’re looking at selling in the next few years and having a dispute with neighbours will make this more difficult.

I’m being a wimp and keeping out of it. Dh wants me to go with him so Twatty can’t say they didn’t agree to it or argue with me about it. I’m so cross about it and particularly annoyed that this guy seems to only do it when he knows I’m on my own. Bloody git.

OP posts:

RhythmStix · 21/09/2018 12:57

Good on your dh....sounds like he isn't going to let twatty neighbour fob him off.YOU must go with him to present a united front!
Good luck and keep us posted

ChasedByBees · 21/09/2018 13:46

You should go.

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