To ask if people on your road (or you) leave bins out to reserve parking spaces

[Lemonsaretheonlyfruit]

Following on from the dropped kerb thread. There are now 2/3 people who do this regularly. I find it so rude and self entitled. I don't have an issue as a one off ie building works / elderly relative visiting/ removals etc etc.. but I am talking about people who put the bins out when they drive to work in the morning and don't expect anyone to park there all day so they can when they get home.

Admittedly there are people who use our road to park on all day (council is currently consulting on permits) so it can be hard. However I do find it quite amazing that people think it's ok to do this? I do move them if I can't find a space elsewhere but still!

I would really love to hear from some one who does this to hear why you think it's ok to do this every day.

I've never done it. I'd probably get my bin pinched if I did.

But I honestly don't blame people who do. I used to live on a terraced street and was forever having to amble miles up the street with two small kids and a boot full of shopping.

The worst is people who parked and left room outside my house. But didn't actually leave enough space for my car. They would then wait until I'd done my best Austin powers impersonation for half an hour trying to squeeze in, wait for me to bundle the kids out and then ask 'Would you like me to move my car?'

Some people on the road behind my house forgot to do it once. I parked opposite their house, not even in front of it, and not even directly opposite. No parking restrictions etc. Couldnt park in front of my house as tourists would usually park along the road.

Anyway, was away for two days for family emergency. Came home to the car and the man came storming out, saying how I'd ruined his wife's birthday because they couldn't get their caravan out (I couldn't eve see a caravan as it was behind their hedge on their property), and that because id parked there before they'd had a chance to out cones out to "reserve" the space it was all my fault. I was like, but it's a public road? How was I supposed to be psychic and know? I was breaking no laws, blocking no one in. He wouldn't have had that attitude if I'd been a 6f plus man.

We swap our cars around. We have enough space on the drive for all three but if someone parks opposite we can't get the top one out so we are all stuck.

Its bloody annoying! It's a cul de sac and the turning bay is used as parking by a street that has parking behind. We are currently speaking with the council about restrictions so fingers crossed.

@Fatted I do agree that it's much more frustrating if you have young DCs.., but I would still sooner keep peace with my neighbours and not be known as a CF. It's just not on. Disabled, yes.. and for the other reasons people have given but it's not on in my opinion. Mind you as long as the CF over the road carries on putting her bins out I'll always have a space anyway

No but we have a driveway and it’s not possible to park on the road outside our house and there still be access as it’s a single lane. We do have neighbours further along the road, which has the only two spaces it’s possible to park on, who incorrectly thinks they belong to their house and gets very annoyed at anyone else parking there.

@Lemonsaretheonlyfruit I wasn't arsed about keeping the peace with my old neighbours. They weren't arsed about smoking weed constantly, setting fires in their back garden the second I put my washing out or screaming at their kids and each other at 6am. Parking was honestly the least of the problems with my old house!!

Now I have an allocated parking space outside my new house. Anyone parking on the road gets towed away because it's a private road. No wheelie bins required

She's just left!

I have a neighbour who does this all the time. I don't do it but I am beginning to think maybe this is the way forward

No, but we had a letter from the council asking us to leave bins on the road not the pavement on bin day because the amount of time it was taking to keep walking bins up and down to dropped kerbs was meaning bin routes were not getting finished. And now everyone who just parks on our street but doesn’t live here keep on giving us passive aggressive stares, even though we are doing exactly as we have been asked.

I did this once with a big sign saying we were moving out so needed a big space for the removal lorry. Neighbours had kindly moved their cars so I didn't want the space nicked by randoms.

If it was every day I think if have to write a polite note saying that it's not really on and I probably would report it if it continued.

I think people understand a one off but unfortunately if you live in a house with a driveway you have to accept that you can't necessarily park near your house (or even on your road, a reason why I moved out of London).

Ha! If people did that then the bins would be filled to overflowing when they got home!

Indeed! Even better if there are plenty of people around walking large, highly-productive dogs!

What comeback could the householder have? "Oh, I assumed it was a new communal bin provided by the council as it was on the public highway."

Even better, report it to the council as abandoned. Enough people do that when people legally park cars in 'their' space and don't move them for a few days.

Or you could just wheel it away around the corner and, when the neighbour starts asking around as to its whereabouts, say the council probably assumed it had been abandoned or surplus to requirements and took it away as a spare one to give to somebody else who needs one.

People parking in front of my house gives me the rage. We live on a narrow street and are the corner to another busy road. We get used as a park and ride daily and people leave their cars for 10+ hours. There is a perfectly good 'free' car park across the road, several lay bys, but no, they park right outside my front door. It totally boils my piss!!!!! 'Gosh I feel better for that.....

So, I sort of understand your neighbour, if that makes me a CF then so be it 🤷‍♀️

I can't imagine any reasonable person would object if you did this on a very occasional basis and put up a sign on it, rather than just assuming that the aggressive presence of your bin itself is sufficient to scare people away.

Putting it out the night before and adding a big sign asking if people could kindly not park there as you have a removal lorry or wedding or funeral cars coming tomorrow is perfectly reasonable.

If you do it every day and don't even bother to give a reason, or your unstated 'reason' is "Because it's outside MY house" then that's completely unreasonable.

I wouldn't say anything to the neighbour myself, as these are invariably the selfish, bullying sort who get angry and intimidatory (or even commit criminal damage) if people don't let them always have their own way - but I'd definitely report them to the council (demanding anonymity for my own safety) and follow it up if necessary.

Don’t people move the bins and park there anyway?

Also, in bad weather, don’t the bins move around anyway? I wouldn’t be happy if a neighbour deliberately placed their bin on the road next to where I parked and my car ended up damaged as a result.

I have seriously considered putting a cone out once or twice. I live near a shopping centre and am pregnant with another DC.

Even though my street is resident parking only in the run up to Christmas people choose to park outside my house instead of the multi-storey nearby. Sometimes I've been left driving round for ages looking for a spot and have had to resort to paying for the multi storey as the shoppers have taken all the resident spaces.

If a cone or bin would get them to use the multi storey then I would use one!

Back in the 80's my sister had a neighbour who did this. I offered to park my car in front of their house for a while. That while was 6 months, as I was in RAF and did a posting to Belize. Car was taxed and insured so poor neighbour was stuffed.

If there's no assigned parking, no permits, anyone who gets the hump about people parking legally which happens to be outside their home is laughable.

I’m sorely tempted. Everyone on our road has a drive except for us so our little grass verge is popular for overflow cars. That’s fine except there’s plenty of room for two cars and some dickhead with a teeny smartcar insists on parking right in the middle.

That gives me the rage.

One of my neighbours does this.

He also spends time printing out "You Are Not Allowed To Park Here!" notices on A4 paper and putting them on the windscreens of any poor soul who dares to park in the vicinity.

No idea why as it's an ordinary street without any parking restrictions. I suspect he has too much time on his hands.

My parents have a neighbour who puts a traffic cone out to reserve the spot outside her house.

Someone has taken to parking there anyway and putting the cone on top of their car 😂

If you are expecting movers you can pay the council for temporary parking ban in front of your house. But people just don't want to pay.

“If you are expecting movers you can pay the council for temporary parking ban in front of your house. But people just don't want to pay”

Too right! It costs £100s in our borough!

He also spends time printing out "You Are Not Allowed To Park Here!" notices on A4 paper and putting them on the windscreens of any poor soul who dares to park in the vicinity.

Please print out some signs saying "You Are Not Allowed To Bill Post On Private Property" and then stick them all over his house windows

I'd seriously consider going to the council with one of the notices and acting all innocent, asking why the regulations have changed, what the specific regulations are and why are they not on paper with official council logos. You could be helpful and give them a detailed description of their 'officer' and mention that you've seen him going to and from number 16 very frequently, presumably to follow up some other repeated violation perpetrated by the residents there. If there's one thing councils hate, it's other people trespassing on their 'territory'!

It makes a change for somebody to have a hobby that isn't cycling, but what a tedious, miserable little life he must lead. Does he also monitor the trees in his garden 24/7 and run out every time to scare away any birds that dare to perch on the branches? Or go to the seaside and shout at the tide that it isn't allowed to come in here? What a waste of life.

Someone on my road does it. They've also had a go at me over parking in the past. I consider them arseholes. But they get their way because I hate confrontation.