Driveway with no dropped kerb..

[MadgeHarvyy]

Does this mean it is not legally a driveway..?

The council here actively go around and any illegal driveways they put in posts to block it being used. They are not giving permission for many driveways anymore either due to gardens not being long enough, lack of street parking etc.

The council don’t just drop the kerb, they strengthen the pavement to protect the pipes underneath.

Our council have dropped 3 kerbs at various properties and never do this, it’s not always necessary. Services buried under pavements are usually protected enough , otherwise there would be a much bigger drive to stop people parking on pavements. Mains services are buried deep enough to allow for a twice daily 3 second passage by your average vehicle.

@MrsKoala

When I lived on a busy main road with double yellows, in a ground floor flat of a converted Victorian house, we had a drive with a dropped kerb. The neighbours downstairs to the left had a front garden with grass and flowers etc and we had a fence between us which belonged to them. When they sold it the new owners kept parking on our drive. I managed to catch them one day and told them to stop parking there. They looked confused and said that part of our drive came with their flat. I assured them it didn’t. But they kept blustering that the estate agent said they were allowed to park there. (They’d always viewed it in the day in the week when our car wasn’t there). We got our deeds out and they got really angry.

The next day they smashed down the fence and started driving up our dropped kerb and onto our drive and then onto their grass and flowers from our property side. Within a couple of weeks their front garden was a bog of deep wet mud, with 2 particularly deep troughs where they parked. When they started their car the wheels spun round spraying mud everywhere for a bit before the car would eventually move. Our car, front window and drive was splattered with mud and there were muddy tyre marks over the drive and pavement. Utter twats.

That's awful.

What did you do?

The council weren’t interested as it was private land and as it was a dropped kerb was fine with them. The police were not interested either. We spoke to the neighbours and they were quite indignant that we should have honoured what they thought to be their right as it wasn’t their fault they’d been lied to They also said the mess was our fault as if we’d let them park on our drive they wouldn’t be forced to drive over it as they couldn’t be expected to park 2 streets away! (Which as it was London is pretty normal if you live on a double yellowed main road with no drive - it’s why you pay more for homes with parking).

We stopped taking our car out as much and rearranged pots etc till they got planning permission and got a drive of their own. It was a particularly muddy and irritating 6 months tho.

Round our way council staff came out to investigate a complaint about noise after a row in the street one Saturday night. They noticed a couple of houses had "patios with aspirations" and wooden chocks to drive over the pavement. They all got warning letters threatening legal action if they didn't stop driving over the pavement. One took the bait and got a dropped kerb, 2 parked on the road for a bit then swapped back again. No action in the 2-3 intervening years.

I started a thread some time back about the fairness or other of having the exclusive rights to reserve a section of road for your own access, meaning that nobody else can park on it, and I got quite a few frothing replies.

For the record, we have a double drive, with double dropped kerb, so I'm thinking altruistically here(!), but I pondered at the fact that nobody else is allowed to park on that bit of the public highway, just because there is a driveway behind it.

In fact, I don't know the legal ins and outs of it, but it's commonly accepted that you can block your own drive by parking on the road across it; ergo you've bagged yourself a reserved space to park on the public highway, just because you happen to have a driveway behind it, that you may or may not be using.

To be honest, although the law isn't technically on their side, I can well see how people can find it dreadfully unfair that others are allowed free access to park on their property and they aren't - just because the former (or somebody who previously owned the property) happened to pay the council to drop the kerb. They didn't actually buy anything tangible - just a one-off fee for the right and recognition to have free access in perpetuity; and a fee that they might not even be granted the right to pay, even if they're willing to do so.

I'm also dubious about the general need to strengthen a section of pavement specially to allow a car to cross it. It seems terribly short-sighted not to have done it all in one go when installing the pavement. How would you even realistically achieve a single smooth length of pavement with parts of it made thicker/stronger than others? After all, you never know when the council might need to park some seriously heavy plant/machinery/vehicles on it to do works, access trees or whatever.

@WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll

I started a thread some time back about the fairness or other of having the exclusive rights to reserve a section of road for your own access, meaning that nobody else can park on it, and I got quite a few frothing replies.

For the record, we have a double drive, with double dropped kerb, so I'm thinking altruistically here(!), but I pondered at the fact that nobody else is allowed to park on that bit of the public highway, just because there is a driveway behind it.

In fact, I don't know the legal ins and outs of it, but it's commonly accepted that you can block your own drive by parking on the road across it; ergo you've bagged yourself a reserved space to park on the public highway, just because you happen to have a driveway behind it, that you may or may not be using.

To be honest, although the law isn't technically on their side, I can well see how people can find it dreadfully unfair that others are allowed free access to park on their property and they aren't - just because the former (or somebody who previously owned the property) happened to pay the council to drop the kerb. They didn't actually buy anything tangible - just a one-off fee for the right and recognition to have free access in perpetuity; and a fee that they might not even be granted the right to pay, even if they're willing to do so.

I'm also dubious about the general need to strengthen a section of pavement specially to allow a car to cross it. It seems terribly short-sighted not to have done it all in one go when installing the pavement. How would you even realistically achieve a single smooth length of pavement with parts of it made thicker/stronger than others? After all, you never know when the council might need to park some seriously heavy plant/machinery/vehicles on it to do works, access trees or whatever.

Cost! Do you know how much it costs to do that. Its unnecessary waste of money. I've work with people who design streets so I am well informed about these things.

Its also not always possible to dig deep enough to place utilities further down.

For example virgin media wanting to out in fibre cables wheb they dig up pavements or roads there can be water pipes etc at certain depths so they have to work around these meaning some utilies services are at more shallow depths within the construction guidelines of course but this does mean sometimes making hard decisions on paving and road materials to be used.

As a taxpayer if you willing to pay more council tax for gold plated paving (industry term) then stick your hand in your pocket by all means

Cost! Do you know how much it costs to do that. Its unnecessary waste of money. I've work with people who design streets so I am well informed about these things.

Its also not always possible to dig deep enough to place utilities further down.

I stand corrected on that, then. However, my main point about the seemingly arbitrary unfairness of it still stands!

@WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll

I started a thread some time back about the fairness or other of having the exclusive rights to reserve a section of road for your own access, meaning that nobody else can park on it, and I got quite a few frothing replies.

For the record, we have a double drive, with double dropped kerb, so I'm thinking altruistically here(!), but I pondered at the fact that nobody else is allowed to park on that bit of the public highway, just because there is a driveway behind it.

In fact, I don't know the legal ins and outs of it, but it's commonly accepted that you can block your own drive by parking on the road across it; ergo you've bagged yourself a reserved space to park on the public highway, just because you happen to have a driveway behind it, that you may or may not be using.

To be honest, although the law isn't technically on their side, I can well see how people can find it dreadfully unfair that others are allowed free access to park on their property and they aren't - just because the former (or somebody who previously owned the property) happened to pay the council to drop the kerb. They didn't actually buy anything tangible - just a one-off fee for the right and recognition to have free access in perpetuity; and a fee that they might not even be granted the right to pay, even if they're willing to do so.

I'm also dubious about the general need to strengthen a section of pavement specially to allow a car to cross it. It seems terribly short-sighted not to have done it all in one go when installing the pavement. How would you even realistically achieve a single smooth length of pavement with parts of it made thicker/stronger than others? After all, you never know when the council might need to park some seriously heavy plant/machinery/vehicles on it to do works, access trees or whatever.

You’ve got a really strange opinion in this.

If anyone could use the space how would you get your own car in/out. Most pay extra for the privilege of parking on your property, why should they then be expected to be blocked in?

I had someone threaten to put our car windows in after I parked across their no dropped curb driveway.

@Scoobydoobywho see, although it's ridiculous to threaten to do that. I don't understand why you would park over someone's drive to even if you're allowed to. I'm not being inflammatory by the way, it's just not something I would do, just because I could.

@SuperintendentHastings, because it didn't look like a driveway. It wasn't concrete, it was like a slate type thing.

If he’s elderly, just leave it

You don’t know if he has health issues which could require emergency healthcare and access to his driveway. I know it’s a stretch, but I just wouldn’t have the energy to start a feud with someone who’s clock is almost up

You’ve got a really strange opinion in this.

If anyone could use the space how would you get your own car in/out. Most pay extra for the privilege of parking on your property, why should they then be expected to be blocked in?

I think you've misunderstood my point. I'm saying if there were no drive, it would be a free space on the public highway for anybody to use. However, because you have a driveway on your own property adjacent to it, nobody else can ever use that space, as you earn the right to 24/7 access, so nobody can ever stop in it, whether you use it or not.

Yes, houses with drives tend to cost more, but you pay that higher purchase price to the private individual(s) you buy your house from - it doesn't go to the government or the Highways Department.

Ah a new twist on the ever popular subject of parking !

I don't drive, but I do love a good parking thread!

I had this issue a few months back. Ended up parking on the street and across the drive once it was pointed out to me that it wasn't a proper driveway and I could get fined. Interestingly enough a policeman came to our door at one point (doing door to door enquiries) and asked why I hadn't parked my car up the driveway! I told him that it was illegal to do so due to the lack of a dropped kerb and he said it's a council matter and I should just do it! I didn't though just in case!

[quote SuperintendentHastings]@Scoobydoobywho see, although it's ridiculous to threaten to do that. I don't understand why you would park over someone's drive to even if you're allowed to. I'm not being inflammatory by the way, it's just not something I would do, just because I could.[/quote]

But it's not "their" drive @SuperintendentHastings . Just because they've designated a bit of their property in their own minds for parking? Doesn't mean we should all be mind readers and recognise that a clear bit of patio at the front of a garden = parking space.

The dropped kerb is what signifies legal access. If I don't see a dropped kerb (and it's not a country road where the markings and access are clear) then I will park across the kerb.

The problem with so many folk in Britain is that they think they can do a land grab first and then do the legal bits only after they are backed into a corner by legal complaints, threat of fines etc

It's just bullying. If you want a drive and the road is such that kerbs need to be dropped? Pay for it!! Don't make me have to be an enabler for your laziness.

It's just bullying. If you want a drive and the road is such that kerbs need to be dropped? Pay for it!! Don't make me have to be an enabler for your laziness.

Crikey! I'm not sure 'bullying' is the appropriate word @Ginuwine.

I kind of meant that I wouldn't block someone's car in just because I was 'allowed' to. In Scooby's case it wasn't obvious so easily done.

I don't think I'm as bothered about this as you are to be honest. 🤣

“Just because they've designated a bit of their property in their own minds for parking? Doesn't mean we should all be mind readers and recognise that a clear bit of patio at the front of a garden = parking space.”

A car being on it is often the clue.

In my case they had a proper driveway with a dropped kerb which had a car on which I didn't block. It was the garden
area overlooked by their front window that he complained about me blocking.

Excuse the drawing.

I’ve seen a few people say they would happily block a car in that was parked on “a patio with aspirations” can I just say, this happened with my relative and the car that blocked her in got a fine. So clearly not all councils (police?) agree with you!

@Weatherwarnings

I’ve seen a few people say they would happily block a car in that was parked on “a patio with aspirations” can I just say, this happened with my relative and the car that blocked her in got a fine. So clearly not all councils (police?) agree with you!

Unless there are yellow lines or specific signs saying no parking the law is that you are allowed to park. You cannot park across a dropped kerb that is illegal and you csn be fined for it.

My neighbour has just converted their front garden to block paving. They have not have the kerb dropped which currently allows two cars to park. People are continuing to park their because its still legal to do so. They cannot complain about being blocked in because they do have a legal right to drive over a kerbed pavement to park their car on their converted garden. If they get a dropped kerb then cars by law are not allowed to park across the dropped kerb.

@cyclingmad my relatives house has always had the drive without a dropped kerb it’s not like she put it in. She has lived there 40 years parking on her “patio with aspirations” all that time. The road is right near a park so frequently gets antisocial parking and when someone blocked her drive they were ticketed. So you can quote whatever law you like but if you block someone’s car in you risk a fine. She has also in 40 years never been warned of driving on the pavement.