New house - new neighbours - new parking woes

[PeeAche]

Moved into the house of our dreams this summer - but didn't realise parking would be such an issue.

We have a "driveway" that is wide enough to accommodate 3 cars. It is L shaped so 2 cars would be parked in a line and 1 car off to the side IYSWIM.

We don't have 3 cars though, we have 2. And we thought it would be perfect. But after we moved in, we realised that space 3 (the one off to the side) is impossible to get into, due to the narrow entry way into the drive.

Because spaces 1 & 2 are back to back, we only really get use out of 1 space.

The people that lived here before us were very elderly and housebound.

So the solution is to whip out the gate post and make it all wider at the front. Ideally we would also increase the dropped curb.

Parking on the road should be no issue. It's a tiny village with no shops, no school and no attractions. Just a line of houses and every single house has a drive - apart from the house opposite. The house opposite have 3 enormous cars and nowhere to put them. The road is narrow.

Their preference is to park them right outside our house - which would be no problem, except they hem us in on all sides. They park so that each end of their cars are overhanging our dropped curb by just a few mm. The third car, they park directly opposite our drive. It's not technically an illegal parking formation but it does mean that it's a 6-point-turn getting onto or off our own driveway. Every day. It's driving me batty!!!

I have tried having a friendly word and they just said "we've lived here for 22 years" and nothing else. No apology, explanation or owt. Just that. And then they walked away.

I realise this is a very small thing to be complaining about. But I am at my wits end after missing my own midwife appointment last week because they had totally blocked me in!

The other thing is (although the speed limit is 30), people average around 50mph on our road and I can't see round the tunnel of car they have created. It's like the riskiest creep-n-peep ever. And it's an almost daily occurrence that some vehicle is bombing it along and has to do an emergency stop because I'm sat in the middle of the road, trapped between 3 cars, doing my dodgy 6-point-turn 😅

If I call the council and show them how dangerous it all is, how likely is it that they will let me increase my dropped curb by another foot or so? Or apply some double yellows? Or am I in fantasy land? And would this be the biggest Dick Move ever to my neighbours - who would then have to shuffle along the street to the next spots?

We do try to nab at least 1 of the spots with 1 of our cars, if we can - and leave a good foot of space so that the driveway isn't all hemmed in. But we work full time and the cars are in constant use. Whereas our neighbours seem happy to leave theirs there for days on end. We can't both be parking on the street all the time as we have young kids to load in (and I'm preggers). Plus my car is electric so I need to be able to charge it.

Our house is quite wide so there are a total of road 3 spaces along our frontage. They could shuffle down a bit and not use the one that hems in our drive!

Oh, for the record, I drive a Golf so it's neither a big nor small car. DH drives something similar but not electric. I'm not trying to manoeuvre some angry tank!

So, the Q is:

AIBU to contact the council and try to get the curb lowered / permanently change the parking situation?

YANBU: This sounds fine and safe and your neighbours will get over it.
YABU: They've done this for 20 years and now you think you should shake it all up? It's just parking. Get a life. Etc.

Opinions from both sides welcome! I can submit diagrams if this helps... I have the day off.

definitely a long drpped kerb AND H bar if you can get it no YANBU. Nobody soends ectra money on a drive not to be able to use it

Just apply to widen the drive and dropped curve. As it is they are parking legally, even if its very inconsiderate.

You need a penguin bollard AND an elderly Korean lady as deterrents!! If all else fails LTB 💐

We have people park opposite our driveway all the time. The neighbours next door but two did it all the time and didn't even stop when dh reversed into their car. It took years but eventually they park a whole two metres further down. Clearly didn't want to walk 2-3 extra steps. We get others parked there now and it is so frustrating. There are other spaces. They just don't want to walk a few more steps.

@YouDoIDo are you stalking OP?!

@PeeAche
Anyone who parks like they have is a giant Knob with a capital N!
They are doing it to be passive aggressive
Just because they have been there for 22 yrs gives them no rights at all!

Drop your Kerb further, and I’m surprised that their cars don’t get damaged in that formation.

I lived next door to a lovely housebound neighbour, she had a drive, and the new people park their cars outside my house- annoying?
Yes, have I been here 22 yrs plus?
Yes- but I’d never mention it to them as new neighbours are otherwise nice.

Certainly get the dropped kerb widened and protected with an H bar, if the Council will agree. Double yellows will only be put in if there's a road safety issue.

Speak to the council. Labour the point about road safety etc. Try and get the kerb lowered all the way to your path. It’s worth paying whatever it costs if you’re going to be there for a while.

In the meantime, hire a cheap skip and put it where the neighbours park? Or get one of these car tents?

I would a) get an h marking (some councils call them dog bones) b) get the dropped kerb widened c) use that space in front of your house to reverse. That's what it's for. So you drive forward into that, reverse up the drive.

Then both your cars are at least facing the right way to get off your drive.

I had a neighbour who parked outside of my house instead of outside hers, as close to our drive as possible. When we asked her to stop it got worse.

So I wouldn't engage further with them but would instead throw council or money at it to get any kind of solution. Let us know how you get on please!

if its a narrow road I'm surprised they don't try and have everyone park on one side. Is there enough space for cars to pass through or is it like a slalom for through traffic?

I understand the pain a little but yours is worse than mine. I have people parking opposite only, but the road is narrow enough that I can't use the dropped kerb fully without a 3 point turn, so I often drop my wheel off part of the main kerb. Everyone has drives but opposite have shorter ones so tend to park on the road. Also makes it a pain to park

Could you enquire about a speed camera as well? Cars driving 20mph over the limit

I recently had H markings painted across our drive to stop people blocking us in, it only cost £46, as there was an 8 week wait to get the lines painted they gave us the mobile number of the parking wardens who drive round ticketing illegally parked cars so we could call and report anyone blocking us in.

[quote Geekygeek]Called a H bar marking.

Quick google gives this. Not sure why Rochdale was top of the list

www.rochdale.gov.uk/parking-roads-and-transport/Pages/apply-for-h-bar-markings.aspx[/quote]
If you click on that link you'll see Rochdale no longer offer H bar markings as they aren't effective; a number of councils have similarly stopped doing H bars.

Apply for a double width dropped kerb, OP.

YANBU. At all.

If the neighbours mention the 22 years again, so ask them if that means they've been twats for the entire 22 years they've lived here, then.

And call the council about the kerb and/or markings.
And the police every single time you are blocked in.

park on the road yourselves leave your drive empty if they ask why say you can't see to get off it .

Nice diagram! Personally I would pay to widen the dropped kerb as it will give you greater options. If you get the hline or double yellow then you or friends or even builders wont be able to park across your own driveway. You just need to block the others ifswim

H-bars are advisory, not enforceable. We got one to prevent people overhanging our driveway and it cost about £130. It’s a visual deterrent mainly. Some people do still park over it though and given that your neighbours sound like they’re parking obstructively on purpose, I wouldn’t be surprised if they ignored it.

Dropping your kerb further seems to be the best solution but it’s usually a couple of grand to get done and your council may not agree to let you.

It’s odd that your neighbours are being so provocative about it when you’ve only been there a short time.

Blimey no wonder you can’t get in and out of your drive.

We recently increased our dropped kerb across our drive, so that we could fit more cars on the front of the drive. It cost us about £600. It was an easy process. They are unlikely to refuse.

Your neighbours are being very inconsiderate but they are unlikely to change if they’ve been able to do it for years.

When you apply to the council I would actually send them your diagram so that they can see what an issue you have.

Good luck.

So realistically you have parking space for one car as the other spaces are inaccessible or you would block yourself in. I would be wary of asking for yellow lines.

I am feeling very not unreasonable now (aka reasonable!) Thanks everyone.

I've emailed my local council about these H bars. I'm definitely applying for the dropped curb. I've already filled in the application but I'll have to wait until January to pay for it because Christmas is tough on the old bank.

It’s odd that your neighbours are being so provocative about it when you’ve only been there a short time.

No, it isn't - they're deliberately setting out their demands from the outset. The one 'qualification' they have that OP cannot possibly have is how long they've lived there for, so that's the card they're playing. Not that it is a card to play - all they're doing is admitting that they've been able to get away with selfish parking for so long, because the previous residents didn't need full vehicle access to their house.

That said, though, if they were elderly and housebound, they very likely had numerous visitors - family, friends, delivery drivers, prescription drop-offs, doctors, carers, ambulances - who needed to at least park outside their house and would have found it much easier to be able to use their drive when visiting. Just because the old folk didn't drive themselves, their right to full use of their property was royally trampled on - for 22 years, as CF neighbours freely admit.

CFs routinely use the excuse that 'nobody stopped me before' as if it means that they've somehow acquired a right. Oddly enough, bullying vulnerable people for over two decades does not 'earn' you any actual rights. They should be deeply ashamed of themselves, not proud and entitled - but they sound like 'that kind' of people who simply couldn't care less about anybody else.

Ive just had my dropped kerb extended, it was £600. I was asked to ensure the drive was laid out already with no wall obstructing it. I didnt need planning permission as it wasnt a road that needed it. I live on a close. It took 6 weeks to get it done from sending my request in.

Having it gives me peace of mind, though i have considerate neighbours

Yes, wide. The dropped kerb at any cost if possible. Will be an investment in a peaceful life.
I'd also look at getting a cheap car and keep it insured and in place on the road so they can't do what they are doing. They are clearly obnoxious!

Agree with the H and extended dropped kerb.

Could you use spaces 1 and 3? From space 3, is it possible to back round your drive towards space 1, then drive out? Would that be a bit safer?