It's a parking one.........

[LissJas]

We live in a very small village. We have a village square where there are parking spaces, some short term (30 mins) and some with no time restrictions. There is also parking available on each side of the roads leading off the main square. There are terraced houses opening directly onto the pavement on each side too. Most village households have two cars and parking is an absolutely bloody nightmare. Normally every space crammed at every point, you have to drive round and round until someone leaves like a bloody busy car park.

My dd's car has been parked on the road outside a terraced house for a few weeks (driven around every so often by me and DP as she isn't home at the moment). There are cars in front and behind her taking all the available space up, same on the other side of the road.

I went to move it today, drove it to the shops and back and then when I returned the space I'd driven out of was still free! So I re-parked. A woman then approached my car, I opened the window and she basically had a go at me for parking there. She said the neighbours are furious, they've had the police out, the council out, they thought it was an abandoned car (it's been driven regularly!). She said it's taxed, insured and MOT'd (like I hadn't known?!) BUT to be aware that they had run these checks, like it was a threat. Like the car is now on their wavelength so I should be aware. She then said that I was parked in front of someone's house and depriving them of their parking space. There are no allocated spaces within the square at all, it's a first come, first served situation. She was very accusatory, rude and patronising. I have no idea why she was getting involved, she isn't one of the neighbours. She was quite aggressive, kept going on about how upset they were as if I should just say "Oh, sorry, I'll move immediately." There was nowhere to move to!

I was quite shocked but I pointed out that I was parked perfectly legally, with a legally roadworthy car and that no-one has an allocated space outside their house. My house is in the village and I can't park outside it!! That's just the way things are, it's a pain but the fact is that anyone can park anywhere. She muttered something about only telling me then said "I think you should be more gracious," before storming off.

So AIBU or was she??

Ps. Most houses have at least two cars. It's just the way of things here 🤷‍♀️

There's also a really, really old car that is just moved around the square. No one has ever seen it driven outside the village!

Sounds like somewhere I used to live. Village parking messy, surrounding roads single track country lanes... so "further away" was 3-4 miles. Village had a "good" for rural area bus service as it was once an hour 8-5 so possible to go into town for day time leisure/school but not to work other than exact 9-5 less than 10 minutes from the bus station...

Funnily enough lots of cars in all the villages!

Whilst you aren't doing anything illegal I think you are being selfish. You should try and alternate where it is parked if any spaces become available. It would drive me mad to have someone abandon their car outside my house for weeks at a time.

I don't think you are being selfish. People don't own the road outside their house and if they don't have a dropped kerb it doesn't need to be kept clear.
You could just as easily argue the space should be kept for you as you can't park outside your own property and need somewhere to park. You pay your road tax as much as the next person. Also, if you drive it away occasionally, someone could park there in that timeframe. It is a new parking session each time you return.
You could say that they could be more gracious rather than approaching you to pressurise you to remove a perfectly legally parked car. Certainly with the parking restrictions you have outside your own property. I know it is your daughter's car, but point still remains. You could look at any car you see there regularly and say you should have the police check if they are taxed and insured properly. Being approached like that, by self important busybodies, for no reason would irritate me.

I live in an area with onstreet parking and few driveways. Couldn't give a damn who parks outside my house. She needs to get a life.

You pay council tax and it’s a public road. Suggest if they don’t want others storing cars there, then get permitted parking through the council

Missing the point of the thread here, but...

Like the car is now on their wavelength so I should be aware.

I have never heard that phrase used in a context like this-I was just wondering what you meant?

The thing is that when cars are used daily, they are just inconveniently parked at night, and people get a chance to park in front or near their houses.
A car parked for weeks on end in front of a house limits the owner's chances of ever parking there.
If you park her car in front of your house, if you ever get the opportunity, then it's you who have to find parking further from your home in a daily basis, not any other neighbour. This is the nicest thing to do, even if you have to park your own cars in front of other people's houses.

On a side note, do you have any space at the front of your house for a drive?

Like the car is now on their wavelength so I should be aware

A more common expression would be to use the word radar than wavelength but essentially think the OP means the neighbour was stating car/parking issue has been brought to the police's attention (not that they are bothered I'm sure!)

Yes, a car parked legally on the road will be on their radar. I wonder how many cars are parked legally on that road, and on all the other roads in that town/village. Should it be fair game for all cars with correct insurance, tax and parked legally on the roads up and down the country to be approached by a possee of vigilantes who want that particular piece of public ground for their own car.

Op has no parking at all in front of their house. Maybe the people 'policing' the other public road should rent or buy a garage somewhere, just for themselves, or apply and pay for a dropped kerb since they can't seem to understand public parking space with no restrictions means just that.

A real mixture of opinions!

Re. the wavelength thing, maybe I didn't use the right word. I meant to say that I took it as vaguely threatening. Like, we know who you are now and we know your car. Like it would be a target...? Oh I don't know. Perhaps I've got that all wrong.