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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To ask children to play in their own street?

61 replies

TattiePants · 06/04/2020 18:44

I live on a private road which is owned, maintained, insured etc by the residents. There are a handful of families living here and as most of us have relatively small gardens, we’ve agreed between us to take turns using the road so the DCs can play on bikes and scooters. Basically only one family will be out at once as the road’s quite narrow and it would be tricky keeping the DCs apart.

This afternoon my DCs wanted to ride their bikes so I went to check if the street was clear and 3 kids that don’t live here were riding their bikes up and down. We played in the garden for a bit but 25 minutes later the same kids were still in the street, now playing football. I asked if they could go back to their own street / house as we wanted to play out. They did go but 5 minutes later their DF confronted me saying it was unfair as their street is too busy for them to play and ‘it’s only a street’. I did point out that it’s a private road and that I had actually left them for 25 minutes which I didn’t need to. He walked off saying I wasn’t to tell his DCs where they could play and that he’d be letting them play here whenever they wanted. Twat!

OP posts:
TotorosFurryBehind · 06/04/2020 21:05

In fact, if the other children injured themselves playing on the private road (eg tripped over a loose paving slab) there are potential liability issues for the residents, so for this reason OP is not being unreasonable to ask them to leave.

Balhammom · 06/04/2020 21:05

As Totoros said, private roads in England & Wales have completely the same status as any other private property - such as your own home. Unless it coincides with a public right of way (unlikely) you, as the owners, have full control as to who you give / don’t gives access.

TattiePants · 06/04/2020 21:13

Yes @TotorosFurryBehind, we have £2m PLI just in case. Before I lived here, two separate people tried to due for 'accidents' they'd had (they didn't get anywhere).

OP posts:
Hilda40 · 06/04/2020 21:41

In this case it's not playing out, it's playing away.

Lynda07 · 06/04/2020 22:00

I must say I've never heard of 'playing out' but that could be because I'm old :-). I do know in some areas children play in the street, I never did and neither did mine,. Children don't play in the street around here but of course they go out on bikes which is what the op and her neighbours have tried to organise, very well by the sound of it.

The other children should not have been using that private road for anything other than access and it doesn't sound as though they were riding bikes but just kicking a ball around. If it doesn't happen in 'normal' times, it shouldn't happen now, totally unnecessary.

MamaBearOnLockdown · 06/04/2020 22:10

Surely it's the same rule for "cycling" as it is for football - no, it's not allowed to claim a space and use for so long, the father was a very rude CF.

Your agreement on your private road seems very sensible.
You are absolutely not wrong OP, but I am not sure how you can manage that, especially at the moment.

h3av3n · 06/04/2020 22:12

They have just as much right to play there as any other road...

Itwasntme1 · 06/04/2020 22:27

I had a similar issue with neighbour hood kids playing in my driveway, it’s very long so they decided it was ideal for football. After the football hit my car I went out and asked them to move on, explaining it was actually my driveway.

I got a mouthful of abuse from a ten year old who said his dad told him the council Pays for the lights in my driveway which means he can play there. I asked him to get his dad round to fully explain how the council pays my electricity bill. Haven’t seen them since!

TattiePants · 06/04/2020 22:35

@Itwasntme1 that sounds even more frustrating.

OP posts:
FrancisCrawford · 06/04/2020 23:30

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

StoneofDestiny · 06/04/2020 23:41

The dads an idiot. A private road is maintained by those who pay to maintain it and it costs a lot to light it, pave it and keep the green areas tended. Parents should be keeping an eye on their own kids in their own areas.

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