Bouncy castle in the street

[daphnedoo12]

Hi,

I live in a street that is blocked off half way by bollards, it has a widening to allow cars to turn around. We do not have front gardens, it's terraced housing.

We park our cars directly outside of our house.

Neighbour (many, many issues with this neighbour) has now set up a huge bouncy castle in the middle of the road.

I can just about turn my car around to get out of the street, although with great difficulty and also with the risk of hitting a child as there is now about 15 of them in the middle of the road.

Anyone parked further up would struggle to actually get their car out.

Is this even legal? We have decent sized yards?? I don't understand why it needs to be in the middle of an actual road. It's so dangerous!

I sound like a party pooper, I have a DS and I wouldn't feel comfortable doing this, no adults are constantly with the children, they're in/out their houses and it's just so worrying.

Am I just a party pooper or am I right to be concerned about this?

Neighbour 4 doors up has kicked off threatening to ring the police. Neighbours who have the bouncy castle just shouted obscenities at him.

@TSSDNCOP

I read Susannah's comment and knew without doubt she was arse up for a kicking.

🤣🤣🤣

You win for using that phrase. I haven't heard it for years!!

The OP talks about big yards so am thinking USA .

I think that calling the police was the right thing to do. I doubt very much that they have insurance for it if it is in the street. They don't sound like the sort of people that would take much responsibility should a child get injured.

The op has said it is firmly secured.

Those neighbours are not very neighbourly, in fact quite anti-social and selfish.

I don't blame people for being up in arms about it if it obstructs their cars.

Children's parties 'at home' should be indoors or in the back garden or yard and these obnoxious people do have one. If it isn't big enough (op says it is decent sized), they don't have to have a bouncy castle, they can provide some other entertainment. Who wants kids out in the street anyway?

The fact that they bad mouthed neighbours who complained is horrible! I couldn't live somewhere with neighbours like that (though you might not know before you moved in or they could move in afterwards).

I wonder what the police will do. It's possible it will be all over before they can do anything which I imagine is what the chavvy neighbours are banking on.

Complaining to the council is generally ineffective unless about council tenants/properties. There are probably local laws about roads but nobody around on a Saturday to enforce them.

Let us know what transpires op.

@Grenlei

There are quite a lot of bouncy castle 'companies' round here that are basically a bloke and his mate in a shitty van with a few tatty inflatables and compressors. No insurance of any kind. But they're cheap and will set up anywhere.

My neighbours set up their pool on their driveway, overlapping onto the pavement last year. Water everywhere. I thought that was bad enough but a bouncy castle actually blocking the road is just crazy.

People's level of entitlement never ceases to amaze me.

That's dreadful. I've never come across people having private celebrations at the front of their house. Who wants to be on display?

That’s not acceptable.

Phone the police. They’ll think it was the other neighbour! 👍

@SusannahMartin

Oh god, Covid has been so hard on so many kids. Could you not just turn a blind eye? You know the way there is a Mumsnet classics? Is there a Mumsnet party poopers?

It's all fun and games until someone gets injured

I think as a pp said, Covid has been an excuse for the obnoxious and entitled to behave as they please, because 'its just a bit of fun for the kids and it's all been so hard on them'.

I am fairly laissez faire in my parenting and far from the type to worry about a paedo on every corner etc but my neighbours having kids (and the kids friends) in trunks or swimsuits on full display in their pool on a busy road (we're on a bus route) didn't sit well with me at all. We have good size back gardens too, so again completely unnecessary.

With a bouncy castle I'd be very worried about the safety aspect, both for kids using it/ getting on and off it and not looking for cars, plus also for any emergency services vehicles that might not be able to access because the road is blocked.

That's dreadful. I've never come across people having private celebrations at the front of their house. Who wants to be on display?

I blame social media. People can't seem to enjoy themselves if they're not able to make sure that everyone else sees them enjoying themselves. Performative enjoyment.

I'd be tempted to stick a pin in it.

They should have someone responsible, to supervise all things, just in case of an accident of some sort.

@justasking111

The OP talks about big yards so am thinking USA .

Yard to me suggests Northern town with rows terraces and "yards" rather than gardens out the back in that they are typically paved and not lawn, and back on to an alley that runs the length of the street.

@HollowTalk

I'd be tempted to stick a pin in it.

Aggressive neighbours though.

Last weekend it was fake grass and a slip and slide thing which looked really good fun.

Ooh ouch! Friction burns!

I hope the police come out and make him put down the bouncy castle

What an absolute knob

Bloody hell. We couldn't find a bouncy castle company willing to do an on street castle even when it was a street party with all residents in agreement and all the relevant permissions and the likes from the council.

They all said it was too dangerous in case someone drove out of their drives (even though the road was closed officially).

Wow! No words!

@Maggiesfarm our neighbours across the road from us have had two parties for their kids in their front garden, both with bouncy castles, in the past few weeks. The reason they have it in the front is because their back garden is a tiny triangles as they are on a corner plot.

Blimey, it's one thing to block the road but yet another to have it blocked by a seemingly unsafe bouncy castle AND stop people from getting out to work.

totally unreasonable IMO unless everyone in the street has agreed to it. I probably wouldn't kick up a fuss unless I genuinely couldn't get out.

@justasking111

The OP talks about big yards so am thinking USA .

Terraced houses in the UK have small gardens, often concreted, referred to as back yards.

@justasking111

The OP talks about big yards so am thinking USA .

In addition to pp comments, they wouldn’t call it a bouncy castle in the USA. It would be a bounce house.

[quote Darbs76]@VariantL1130 - I was just thinking that. Absolutely zilch happens in my boring street in boring suburbia. Shame as I’ve been working at home since March 2020 and trust me nothing has happened. Maybe I should be glad[/quote]
Seriously guys, treasure your 'boring' neighbours and streets. It is soul destroying when you have scummy anti-social neighbours.

I'd get dart or a pin or a scissors, go round the back of it and puncture it. At least the deflation will be slow and won't harm the users if they get out of it quickly enough. But I'd probably be scared that I would be caught and burned at the stake by the nasty parents. Neighbourhood solidarity required if all other pleadings are ignored. Safety in numbers. The entitled feckers.