To fence off my driveway from kids? And if so how?

[Fivsie]

My front garden area is fully paved, and enclosed by a brick wall. It's a decent size area, you can easily fit 3 cars on it (we have 2, but regularly have one other visiting, either my DP, or DCs GF, who also have cars).

The wall is about 3-3.5ft high, on the side that abuts the pavement there is a gap just over 2 car widths wide to allow us to enter/ exit. When I had the wall built some years ago I did think about getting gates but didn't really have the money and it didn't seem essential.

Cut to now...we were away last week. When I came home there were 5 of the irritating neighbourhood kids sat on the wall. They sloped off on seeing me, but when I've looked at the wall they've actually dislodged several of the bricks on the top row (I'd been outside cleaning the wall - scraping off moss etc the week before so it definitely wasn't like that then!) which are now loose.

Added to that I've also seen kids 'playing' on my driveway. Yesterday I came home and 3 of then were riding bikes round it.

I'm fed up with this. I don't want them using my driveway as a play area nor damaging my wall further by climbing all over it. I'm considering whether I can get something added to the top of the walls - railings? A fence? Which would stop the sitting. And then a gate for the entrance - can I get a gate wide enough for that size? I don't really want to narrow the opening as it would make it harder to enter/ exit.

Any ideas? Was going to contact some local builders but feel I need to have some idea what I want first.

But she’s not talking about the children, is she? She’s saying the children have dug the mortar out from her wall, they will be rude to her if challenged and their parents will threaten her, cause criminal damage to her car or slander her. She sounds judgmental and stuck-up to me
No, not judgmental but factual. She's not judging their behaviour just saying what will happen.
OP, as well as sliding gates, can you make the top of the wall uncomfortable to sit on but not harmful to them or their clothing? Add a layer of zig-zag bricks that tilt at an angle? Ugly but might help.

@Warmduscher do you find comprehension difficult? Do you think objecting to abuse and criminal damage is “judgemental”?

Or do you just fancy behaving like a dick and sticking the boot in with a poster who is clearly looking to resolve an issue with neighbours in the least confrontational way possible?

Lots of people round us have a sort of flowerbed built behind their front walls so they can plant hedges-or flowers just behind them. Mainly for privacy around here - could you do that without losing too much parking space?
Can you put a new top layer of spiky bricks on top? Or a low fence? One of our neighbours has a wall that's maybe 2 feet with a foot high bit of fence along the top

If I couldn’t legally paint etc and they were arseholes I’d play dirty. Thin layer of oil along the wall, maybe spread some cat poop. Take that home to your mothers you gits!

Triangular points bricks on top, or just those odd spaced bricks, so there's not a big flat area should work.

I think you need to check about gates opening outwards. They are likely to obstruct the pavement or road.

[quote Seeline]@Shannith it's not that a hedge isn't permanent,; a hedge us not classed as development under the planning legislation. Non-permanent structures can be classed as development and can require PP. Any 'means of enclosure' adjacent to a highway over 1m in height requires PP to ensure that there is no obstruction to visibility for road users, including pedestrians.[/quote]
I know but the scandal was that along our road all the houses have massive hedges and hers was the lowest - just a fence. And about 1 foot too high. Clearly a malicious complaint.

She’s lovely and has replaced the panel with a trellis which is apparently fine.

OP you could also perhaps use trellis fencing - maybe worth a call to the council planning dept before you build or put anything up.

I'll try and contact the council although from memory they are always really awkward about giving 'advice'.

If I can't open the gates outwards I wouldn't be able to have them. Protecting your property shouldn't be this difficult surely?!

OP we have had this too and they've ruined lights and plants! I'd had enough one day and went out and told them if I caught them in the drive again I will call the police as they are on private property and they never came again. Can you put a camera up or dummy camera? Would they listen if you threaten with the police? It's a shame you have to change your property and spend money because people think they can do what they want and nothing can be done.
What about a water sprinkler
A recording of a very big dog you could play each time they are on the drive. It's very irritating OP. I do agree with the oil on the wall too or glue!

@Warmduscher

Let’s face it, no-one wants to live anywhere near families of annoying, sweary young kids and their arsehole parents.

Unless that’s the normal sort of company you keep?

@Fivsie

Unfortunately they are not the sort of polite, well brought up children you can tell things to. If I said anything it would be met with a slack jawed blank stare. Or I'd be told to fuck off. Or get one of the parents coming round to threaten me, call me a nonce etc. Or have my car keyed.

Fencing myself off is literally the best way to protect my home and ensure they can't sit on the wall or use the drive as a play area.

How do you know this? Do you know them and their parents?

Being called stuck up for not wanting your property damaged or to be told to fuck off, is that because people don't believe that kids behave like that? It might be a stereotype but it's also reality.
Kids round here do it, any hedge or wall that size is fair game. They sat on my 6ft wall too. I went for the natural approach, blackberry bush and container grown pumpkins. The wall lost its appeal.

I don't believe for a second that a few 11 year olds have dislodged numerous bricks from your 'perfectly solid' wall, even if they'd spent the entire week picking at the mortar. It was never perfectly solid.

Either add railings to the top, replace with a fence or dig out some of the paving and plant a hedge. Personally, I'd replace with a fence.

@Postdatedpandemic

I think you need to check about gates opening outwards. They are likely to obstruct the pavement or road.

Ours open both ways. If we have to open them outwards we just make sure to shut them once we're out so no obstruction.

The kids live in this street, so yes of course I see how they (and their parents) behave.

Aside from the very obviously dislodged bricks which are now standing proud of the wall level and have less/ no mortar around them, the rest of the wall is entirely as it was last week. The bricks are also in the middle of the top row of bricks - if they were at the end of the wall I could think perhaps it was car or bike damage, but as it is, and given it was right where they were sat, it seems the most reasonable conclusion.

With certain kids/ people nothing surprises me.

You could look at getting bifolding garden gates like the ones in this image on this site:
www.gardengatesdirect.co.uk/bi-folding-gates

the bifolding gates are a great idea but the gap we need to put gates across is bigger than 12ft, plus there's only about 2ft max from the back of the cars to the end of the drive, so I'm not sure there would be enough room even for folding gates.

@Fivsie

Thanks for the link, yes that's the kind of thing I had in mind. Not sure what to do about the gate, if I had 2 gates they would need to open outwards because of the cars. Or if it was one gate it would need to slide off to the side.

You can get bifold gates, we're thinking about them for our driveway.www.bing.com/shop?q=bifold+gates+for+driveway&FORM=SHOPPA&originIGUID=97EB524800674FA88AE865BFE5B87FCF

Sorry, didn't RTFT before posting.

Or do this

Man makes racetrack for kids

@Warmduscher

I think you struggle with basic comprehension.

Sorry OP. It sounds really annoying tbh and it feels like your solutions might be quite expensive

Sliding gates? Re the bricks - would a single row of bricks at an angle work, so they're not laid flat on the wall but some of the shorter end sticks up?

Also, Google 'anti sit wall cappings'

Sounds like a shithole I’d move

1. Build some raised beds and plant prickly bushes. You can build the raised beds on top of the paved area.
2. Spike strips along wall
3. Chain across the entrance as opposed to gate. No entry signs in place. Potentially padlock the chain in place to secure it. So, you only need to unchain it to get your car in but hopefully would deter free access to kids ( they could duck under but it would be clear trespassing if they did and you'd have rights to involve police)

You should try what my dad used to do go and talk to them he was hilarious he’d go try engaging them in friendly chat (he could talk for England when he wanted), they soon stopped gathering there or I’m sure it was “the weird bloke chats to us”🤣