Would you ask neighbours to stop doing this? (parking, with amazing diagram)

[HopkinsLeftLeg]

We live rurally. At the front of our house is a private lane, leading to small clusters of houses for around a mile along the road.

The school bus picks up kids at the B-road running along our house.

Diagram attached.

We've had issues with 1 neighbour parking on our land (yes, literally) and waiting for 10 mins until the bus picks their child up, turning on our grass, destroying it. Large boulders and sowing a load of replacement grass last summer put a stop to this, but we had a word with them, and asked them to park at the front of our house at drop off and pickup times, twice a day. It blocks our 2nd car parking space, and means i need to keep shutting the bedroom curtain to get dressed as they always arrive as i get changed for work , but we were also trying to be reasonable - there isn't anywhere else for parents to park, so don't mind it for 15min in the morning and 15min in the afternoons. (that's car 1 in my picture)

However, this morning we've found that other parents in the area are using the private lane to park with their engines running, while they wait on school bus pickups. Car 2 and Car 3, right outside our living room window with their engines running, blocking our main driveway meaning we can't get the car out.

DH and I agree that this is annoying but there's nothing we can do - we don't own the private road at the front of the house.

But this feels odd - the parents in question aren't people we know, but we know they are the closest 2 houses (literally about 200 yards up the road) and i can see this might be an issue for years and years to come, 2x a day as their kids are still young. No idea why they've started doing it now, maybe because they've seen car 1 parking at our house?

Would you park as these cars have done?
Would you say anything if you were us, bearing in mind we don't own the road and have zero legal support - the private land owner of the lane is not one of the cars doing this.

Are we being unreasonable to think this is a bit crap of the neighbours?

(I'm originally from the city so no idea of the rural ettiquette involved here)

[liveforsummer]

@pelosi it's not really relevant in this case who has access and who doesn't as all the people involved are residents of the private road.

[pelosi]

[quote liveforsummer]@pelosi it's not really relevant in this case who has access and who doesn't as all the people involved are residents of the private road. [/quote]
No, they are not all residents of the of the road. Some live in the area, but not the road.

[liveforsummer]

they aren't randoms. they live in some of the houses along the private lane (imagine driving left on my diagram).

They all live on the lane - car 2 and 3 are the closest that are just a few hundred years, car 1 lived further along the lane but is still one of the lane neighbours

[julieca]

You cant stop anyone from being on a private road, and especially not people who live on that road.

[iwishiwasafish]

I’ve had very similar, although it wasn’t directly in front of my house, but the same issue with them blocking access in and out of the private lane to pick up kids from the bus.

I screwed up my courage and went to speak to the culprits. I couldn’t quite believe it, but it seems they just hadn’t thought through how much disruption they were causing.

Maybe the direct approach could work with your neighbours?

[EdgeOfTheSky]

All very bizarre.
Why in earth do secondary school kids need escorting to the bus stop and be seem on to the bus?
Especially from such a short distance. They could just walk on their own.

Have you had abductions or an axe murderer in your area, or something?

[Justilou1]

I’m rolling my eyes thinking “No wonder everyone’s developing diabetes these days…” and my own kids are begging me to drive them the 500m to their school because it’s too hot here where we live. Only going to get much hotter for the next few months… I’ll drive them if there’s a wrath of god thunderstorm (they almost always happen at pick up time.) they have working legs and it’s less than ten mins.

[YouJustFoldItIn]

I’ll drive them if there’s a wrath of god thunderstorm (they almost always happen at pick up time.)

Isn't it? Sounds like you are down under but I can say with confidence that in the UK if there is going to be a storm or a sudden downpour it's almost always around 3pm for some bizarre reason!

[TasteTheMeatNotTheHeat]

@YouJustFoldItIn

Sorry if I've missed this info buried in the thread, but is it marked as a private road and who owns it? Could you consider getting a gate fitted?

Were you the poster who said you had 'picnickers in my garden' a while ago, by which you meant they were on the grass bit on the opposite side of the lane?

I wondered about a gate.

We used to live on a private road and it was gated. It was annoying as hell to have to get out and open/close it, and I complained a lot at the time, but the benefit was that you never had to deal with situations like this.

[EdgeOfTheSky]

Another consideration: do you have Dc who are or will be at the same school land travelling on the same bus?

If so, don’t make enemies of the other parents.

[julieca]

Private roads nearly always legally are public rights of way. You can have a gate, but it has to be able to be opened by the public to access.
It is more similar to a public footpath than say a shared driveway. So you are responsible for maintaining the road, just as a landowner has to maintain a public footpath. But the public has access to use it.

[BeaLola]

I would park my cars on the land to deter them , if they were there before me I would drive off as far as I could and then lean on the horn to get them to move - if that doesn't work drive the 500 yards Dow. The have and work outside their house blocking them In

I'm in a feisty mood

[julieca]

@BeaLola so you would block the road your neighbours live on? You must be popular.

[BeaLola]

No - but these people are taking the mick

I did say I was in a feisty mood this pm - nay have something to do with my neighbour who has space on ger drive for 4 cars but parks outside mine and my next door neighbours drive as she "likes to look out at her driveway minus cars on it !

[julieca]

@BeaLola the OPs is complaining about cars driven by people who live on that road. If you start trying to block the road you are inviting revenge tactics.

[Pottedpalm]

@Lovelymincepies

Speak to the school and give the school their number plates.

Oh for heavens’ sake! Nothing to do with school. Don’t you think they have enough to do?

[julieca]

Dear School, I am unhappy because neighbours who live on my street are sitting in their cars outside my house waiting for the school bus. This means I have to close my bedroom curtains to get dressed in the morning. Can you please do something about this?

[ChardonnaysPetDragon]

Dear School, I am unhappy because neighbours who live on my street are sitting in their cars outside my house waiting for the school bus. This means I have to close my bedroom curtains to get dressed in the morning. Can you please do something about this?

The school should do something about the engines running. It's anti social and illegal.

[julieca]

@ChardonnaysPetDragon it may be anti social. It is not illegal on a private road.

[ChardonnaysPetDragon]

Ok, so it might not be illegal on that particular road, but surely OP is right to be pissed off about anti social behaviour?