AIBU who's the CF? Another parking thread!!!

[crazymicrowave123]

My neighbour opposite my house wrote a letter and put it in my windshield this morning basically a very scary drafted letter explaining that I am not to park outside their house as it is a spot reserved for them by the council to charge their car in their house as they are elderly.

They write that they have a bin that they put out with a note explaining this so that people do not park there and that they own the spot. I parked there yesterday morning and haven't moved my car until today when I saw the note. I have lived at my house for over 6 years and never had an issue parking there before as have others parked there with seemingly no issues.

There was no bin reserving the spot on the road when I parked there (there was a bin on the pavement however) and I didn't think to check their bin for a note explaining not to park there on that day. They say in the letter they will take me to court if I park there again and that they are battling the same issue with others, however I have spoken to my Dad who thinks they are just CF's trying to scare people into letting them have that space.

There are plenty of elderly people on our road who don't request for a space to be reserved nor did I think the council even allowed this. AIBU to keep parking here? I only park here if there is no where else to park but would happily move if they put a bin there with a note politely asking if they can have the spot for the day or something.

It's a cul de sac and I have a child so I can't walk too far due to health issues. And can they really take me to court or can I find out whether the council really have reserved them this spot? I apologise for my terrible handwriting and drawling skills.

@FoofOfTheWalkingDead

I would hope so, but suspect not. Our governments do not seem to think electric cars are going to be a huge problem for a lot of people. It will probably be like some mainstream infrastructure is for small communities - if you want it you club together to pay the huge bill.
As an example- we lived on a council owned
road with mixed council and private housing.
All on bottles of gas . As legislation changes and the houses became older, the gas set ups were no longer legal or insured. So, solution was to go on to mains gas. Homeowners would have had to pay for the laying of pipes from the nearest mains supply a field width away. Cost was at over £10k per household. No help from anywhere towards the cost. The council wouldn’t pay the their homes to switch either.

Passive aggressive is the way to go.

Dear CF,

I think you have been dealing with a very incompetent official in the council who has given you some very bad advice. You can’t possible own any section of a public highway, and any spot designated for charging would be marked, and open to anyone charging a vehicle. As it stands, anyone with a taxed vehicle can park in that spot.

If you give me the name of the official who told you this, I will be happy to raise a complaint with the council on your behalf.

Yours
Reasonable neighbour

@MintMatchmaker

Dear Neighbour

I am a bit put out with the Council. How do they expect us to know this if they have not put a sign up to indicate it is a privately owned part of the highway and that nobody apart from you is allowed to park there? I wasn't even aware you could reserve a parking space on a public road. Due to medical issues I am now looking into doing the same and have made contact with the Highways department to find out the process.

Could I ask if you also had to apply for special permission to have a cable running across the footpath as I made the assumption this would not be allowed for health and safety reasons?

Hopefully I'll be joining you soon with an electric car and reserved parking!

Thank you for bringing this to my attention.

Kind regards
Neighbour

Very smooth!!!!!

@QueenBee52

No way would the council allow cables training across the footpath

very true 🤣

Some bloke near us was doing a sad face in the local paper as people were messing with his charging cable he was running down the pavement. He felt the council should mark a place for him outside his house . He had been warned not to run a cable down the street but kept doing it so people kept unplugging it. The council were unsympathetic as was everyone else. It’s a shame but it seems that unless you have private parking it’s hard to have an electric car

Councils have been doing it wrong for years with their properly marked spaces. All they needed to do was stick a wheels bin there with a note on

it seems that unless you have private parking it’s hard to have an electric car

It’s going to have to get a damn sight easier when that’s the only kind you can buy.

@FoofOfTheWalkingDead

In Canada, people with only road parking have to plug in their cars overnight to power a block heater that keeps the oil pan from freezing. Will we see loads of these contraptions around when electric vehicles become more prevalent?

Also, your neighbours are the CFs.

I remember plugging in the car during winter when I lived in Calgary! In OP's case, I guess they could set one up by attaching it to the building.

YANBU. I don't understand how the neighbour thinks they can take people to court over an unmarked spot on the road - that's ridiculous. Definitely call the council on Monday to see if there's a pending parking restriction.

I'm in London and I've seen quite a few electric vehicle charging points added to lamp posts, which seems eminently sensible.

@Blossomtoes
Which why it should be sorted first. May be, as with insurance, you shouldn’t be allowed to purchase one without being able to safely and legally have the means to charge it at your property. Then that might concentrate the powers that be in getting infrastructure sorted. Even if that means no charging, but swappable batteries.

As well as all the excellent suggestions above, maybe ask them where they got their public liability insurance to cover any accidents from the cable lying on the road.

Surely how this should have gone is them politely saying that they have an electric car and really need to park outside their house so if you are able to park elsewhere it would really be appreciated. Then i'm sure that even if there was nowhere else available when you arrived, you'd move when any other space opened up.

I think they are talking bollocks but easily checked as per PPs

@ElephantOfRisk. Now that is just silly !! Cheeky fuckers don’t have the polite gene. 🤣

But agrees it would have been so much better.

[quote Bargebill19]@Blossomtoes
Which why it should be sorted first. May be, as with insurance, you shouldn’t be allowed to purchase one without being able to safely and legally have the means to charge it at your property. Then that might concentrate the powers that be in getting infrastructure sorted. Even if that means no charging, but swappable batteries.[/quote]
The answer is for charging points to be incorporated into street furniture like lamp posts. There are already car charging stations. We have three within two miles of our house. Nobody should need to charge their car at their property.

Nice try though

WE don't yet have a proper infrastructure for electric cars so this situation is going to be repeated up and down the country. Imagine when you have loads of folk in tenement flats all wanting to charge up their vehicles? Even if every lamppost for a charging spot, you'd need about 8 charging points on each. And it's now the latest crime spree to steal the cables!

Just go over there and ask for proof the council said they'd reserved it.

Then explain you pay your tax and can park wherever is legal.

Tell them to get it towed.. Which obvs they can't!

Where my dh works people Put cones out on the road to reserve spaces. Other people just move the cones.they don't own that space!

@Blossomtoes. Sadly that wouldn’t work where we live. 700 properties. In excess of 50% have only street parking. Most homes have 2 or more cars. We currently have 6 lamp posts. For the entire village 6. They cost £50k to upgrade the light heads, not upgrade to charging points. They come under the parish council to pay for installation, repairs and ongoing costs. Currently our parish council has a loan to pay for these 6 and £20k in its accounts.
So how do we charge electric cars?
No buses or taxis. Nearest town 15 miles away, so can’t park up to charge and walk home.

If it isnt marked as a disabled bay or an "electric car only" bay then it's open for all.
I do believe in being courteous to neighbours and not inconveniencing an elderly couple if you could just park down the hill a bit or whatever, but after that note, I would just park outside their house.

This absolutely 100%

I seriously can’t be arsed with people like this. They don’t own the road. Ignore them and their rantings. In fact, I’d park right outside their house even if the entire street was empty because I’m a bit of a twat like that.

As others have written….. unless its officially marked their note counts for nothing.

I’m not convinced a council will mark a spot for charging up a car. Never seen one. I’m sure that if one regularly draped cables across the pavement the council would object to the trip hazard created.

Charging at home, cables across pavements, reserved charging spots is something that will need to be looked at over the years and will, no doubt, create more CF posts on here.

Sadly not everyone has a drive, lamp posts that could house a charger are usually on the far side of the pavement all of which hold back electric car ownership for many.

If this kind of thing was possible (fairly sure it isn't) wouldn't a planning application need to be put in for change of use from public highway to private land?

I'd tell them you didn't receive notice of this so you'll be sending a copy of their note to the council first thing on Monday, because nobody in the street has been made aware of the change of use and you're worried a neighbour might 'falsely' report them to the police due to it being illegal to put objects on the public highway. They're happy to threaten you so why not turn the tables?

And this would work with a lot of people. I hope this backfires on them completely and all the “neighbours” make a bigger effort to park there.

Have you spoken to any of the other neighbours?

It’s a shame but it seems that unless you have private parking it’s hard to have an electric car

Where I am in London, we have loads of electric charging points on surrounding side streets for anyone to use.

On the original point: I think a bit of pass-agg concern for the CF is perfectly doable if you run into him, otherwise ignore and park at will.

@ArcheryAnnie

Well yes, but the OP didnt say she had an electric car.
The neighbour said it was for them to charge their car, so I said if it wasnt designated for electric vehicles only then that's bullshit and she can park there. If it was designated for electric vehicles only, then the OP couldnt park her journal vehicle there.

This would have required something like a Traffic Regulation Order to implement if what they claim is true. Search on your local council's website to see if there is one applying to your road or one is being proposed. To be doubly sure ring up the roads department and they should be able to help you - they will know what is happening.

More immediately I would contact 101 and report it as a threatening behaviour - it has made you feel vulnerable as a single parent. Then (hopefully) a community liaison officer could come around and speak to them and explain what they can and cannot do and the actual legal situation. That may clarify things in their mind and so they may be more reasonable in the future

*normal