To block the road I live on so people can't park there?

[namechangedpurelyforthis]

As the thread name suggests... I live on a private road. It's near a school. Parents park there all the time, sometimes on double yellows. They block our driveways and limit our access. Where would I legally stand if myself and other residents block the end of the road one day to block the cars in to send them the message that we won't put up with it any more?

We’ve had the exact same problems in our road

Ours is a small private housing estate, it’s a tiny cul de sac but there is a gate at one end which gives us residents pedestrian access to a footpath which leads directly to the primary school

We have a gate on the road entrance with a bipper thing that you were supposed to keep in the car to give you access, but never closed it as it was never necessary - until one parent discovered the pedestrian gate.

We then had the same problems with parents parking all over the narrow road and blocking it, on people’s driveways and gardens.

We put a lock on the pedestrian gate and started keeping the road gate closed and it stopped it - especially after one of our neighbours closed the gate when the cars were all still there one morning and then went out for the day. I’d gone to work before all this kicked off so came home at lunchtime to complete chaos

I dont understand how the uber keen parents at out school park up on the double yellows and sit there for an age and never get ticketed.

We walk so thankfully I dont have to deal with it but it baffles me. My road is parking permit from 11-1300. The wardens are round bang on 11 and just before 1300. Do they just ignore at school gates?

let down a few tyres. Doesn't cause damage, just work for these lazy sods. Who no doubt are the types who often sit there gawping at the brickphone with the engine running.

This is a bit longwinded but might prove useful:
"5.3 Nuisance and trespass
Interfering with a right of way is a civil wrong, namely a nuisance. As
Barsby states, a person whose land has the benefit of a right of way
may take action against any person interfering with his right, whether
the owner of the road or a person who also enjoys a right of way, or
someone unconnected with the road. For example, a right to take
action might arise if the parking of cars in a narrow private road
persistently interfered with the exercise of a right of way, such as in the case of Horne and Horne v. Ball [1995] CLY 1841 in which the court had to deal with deliberate obstruction, accompanied by verbal abuse over a long period.27
In the case of trespass, i.e. going onto land unlawfully or exceeding the scope of one’s authority to go on to land, Barsby states that:
Any person in possession of land can take legal action for
trespass, whether or not they are the owner of the land, since the
policy of the law is to protect a person in that position against
anyone other than the true owner of the land. This is particularly
important where the ownership of a private road is unknown…28

5.4 Parking
Generally, there is no general right to park in a private or unadopted
road except for the owner of the road. In practice parking may be
permitted or tolerated by the owner (in which case there is a licence to
park) and in some cases a legal right may have been granted by the
owner.29 As Barsby explains, parking in a private or unadopted road
without permission or a legal right to do so is trespassing, and is a civil wrong for which redress can be obtained. The wrong is done to the owner of the road or, if different, the person in possession of it:
That person can bring legal proceedings to obtain compensation,
though the amount of harm done would typically be small and
the compensation therefore very modest. The owner is also
entitled to insist that trespassing ceases, and could if need be
obtain an injunction against the person concerned.30
Whether or not someone is trespassing by parking in a private road, if
they obstruct the road and so interfere with its use by those with private rights of way, a different civil wrong (nuisance) is committed. In this case, the civil wrong would be against the person whose land has the benefit of the right of way, probably the owners of the properties. The same would also be true if a parked car obstructed access to a private road. In a case of nuisance the civil courts may grant compensation and other remedies, such as an injunction.31
In some particular circumstances a criminal offence may be committed.
Under section 34 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, as amended, it is an
offence to drive a motor vehicle without authority on land which is not
a road (i.e. a road that is not a highway, or to which the public has
access) save where a person goes no further than 15 yards from a public road, and does so in order to park. On a private road to which the public does not have access, drivers who come onto the road without authority are committing an offence unless they do so in order to park and go no further than 15 yards from a public road. If they park within 15 yards of a public road, they will merely be trespassing, not committing an offence.

Anyone facing parking problems on private roads should consult a legal professional. Information on sources of legal assistance can be
found in HC Library briefing paper CBP 3207.
Commons Library Briefing, 10 April 2018"

It's part of a pdf download that you can get by googling Private Roads in the UK - it's the Briefing Paper dated April 2018 for the Govt. I can't give you the link because it keeps linking to my name!!

If it's private and unadopted you can fit bollards

Gates are wonderful, but very very expensive and they breakdown sometimes. I live on a gated road, I didn't choose to it's just that when we were buying there weren't many houses on the market. Now that I'm here I appreciate it because we live very close to a church and funerals are a huge deal here in Ireland and the other residential roads nearby get really clogged up with cars. It also makes the road very safe for kids to play on as having to wait for the gates to open means that the cars enter slowly and the kids have time to get out of the way. Plus, I never get cold callers or junk mail, I really notice the difference if the gates are left open for a couple of days while they're being repaired.

However, as I say they are very, very expensive so if you just want to keep out the school parents then a bollard or two would do the trick. Remote controlled ones would mean that you could leave them up all the time and everyone could have a control to lower them in their cars. But if you have people at home who would be willing to do it then manual bollards with a padlock or a manual gate with a padlock (that every resident has a copy of the key) along with a notice on the gates that the bollards will be locked from 20 mins before pickup time until 40 mins after pickup time ought to put people off. Even if you only do it intermittently they probably only need to be inconvenienced once to stop them.

So basically it's saying they don't have any right to park on your road, you can get them for trespass, and if it's not a highway (generally used public road) then you have more rights than if it IS a highway, adopted or not.

Might be worth talking to a solicitor and then a sign warning them that Trespassers will be Prosecuted.

@acautionarytale what you say is true for a public highway but this is not the public highway it is a private road, a collapsible bollard maybe the way to go

Can't you just get some of those plastic barriers they use in road works and put them across before the parking starts and remove them once the school day has started?

We had this problem - dh put two large stones (it took him and his brother to lift them) and put them outside our drive right on the edge of the kerb - although people could realistically still park on the road outside it seems to prevent them as they don’t want to risk scratching their door/knocking their wheel on them. doesn’t prevent an obstruction driving along the road but It stops anyone from blocking you in at least.

How long are these parents actually parked there?

This parking issue will be an on going one because, once you've sent the message, by whatever means, to the current offenders, each year there will be a new intake of "offenders" who haven't had the message.

If you know you need to go out around drop off/pick up time, could you park your own car across your drive so that you don't get blocked in by others?
I'm well aware that "you shouldn't have to", but, I suspect anything else is going to result in a continual source of frustration (and hypertension) for you - which damages no-one but you.

Buy a clamp and put your telephone number on the windscreen for release.

I mean a road which is not maintained by the council and has private road signs at the entry.

^Then you and the other owners can do exactly what you like. Go for it

If it is private land it absolutely is not illegal - if it is a bog standard council maintained road its a diffrent story, it can be blocked but has to go through the process for permission at the council. If you want to address the issue you could also get permission for signage politely asking for it not to be used like they do around hospitals etc but basically its open season for parking so long as access/egress is not blocked and I think that is the issue. I know schools we have been involved in have had regular police patrols pop in to do "stings" on poor parking and zigzag parking (thats a straight 3pts on your licence!)

I'm probably going to get a lot of people saying I'm a dickhead, but honestly, assuming that you have tried all other avenues, I would just start vandalising the cars in some way. I know it's not the mature thing to do but I bet it's the same people doing it, and perhaps this would deter them.

Roads near my DC's Primary have gates. They tend to shut them and have a Rota to man them (it helps if you have a number of retired people in the road). They normally are shut mainly for school drop off and pick up, and then when the Nativity plays are on or Christmas Fair etc.
The rest of the time they are left open.

I live near some private roads. A lot of them are public rights of way so have to allow pedestrian, bike and horse access but not vehicular access.
-One road of residents tried to get planning permission for gates, they were refused but put the gates up anyway. They applied for retrospective planning permission and the gates were refused. The council took enforcement action to get them to remove them.

• One road has a barrier than can go up and down. Randomly the barrier is put down and a man in a yellow jacket stands by the gate to let the barrier up and down. The barriers aren't allowed down if there isn't a person around.
• Another road has a white picket fence like gates. However I've only seen the pedestrian gate parts closed which I've opened as the road is a public right of way.

We use Flashpark to issue parking tickets to drivers who block out road. I’m sure that would soon stop them.

@larasmynone clamping is illegal on private land now. You are only allowed to clamp a vehicle you own for security purposes.

I say go for it. The police would tell any complainers that it’s a civil matter.

The only thing that has worked outside my child's school is someone finally ticketing the bloody cars. Nothing else. Not signs, not requests. Not common sense, not arguments. Money.

Not the same as a public highway but is there anything similar you can do? Block them so they can't get to work and lose pay?

www.pendle.gov.uk/info/20077/roads_highways_and_pavements/179/unadopted_streets/2

Private car park signage and a few wheel clamps.
Make an example of the first few Cfers.....

To those saying vandalise the cars - this is really not realistic is it at 9am and 3.15pm when there are presumably going to be loads of other parents about?
It’s not worth getting a criminal record over!

If you had the guts, going and shouting at them “you do know this is a private road and you are parking illegally? I have taken a note of your reg and if I see you parked here again I will be clamping your car”. Some people will probably tell you to fuck off but some won’t want to be confronted again and may think twice.

Could you club together to buy a load of cones (or borrow them from somewhere) and space them along the road? Obviously they can be moved but the kind of people who park inconsiderately on private roads are probably also the kind of people who would be too lazy to get out of their cars and move the cones.