To park in this space?

[MissisBoote]

We live in a regular road with Victorian terraced houses on either side. Cars park parallel to the road. One house has a dropped kerb and the garden was concreted over years ago. Newish neighbour used to keep a car SORN there. The concreted bit isn't very big, it's only about 2.5m deep so you can only fit a small car on there parked parallel to the house otherwise it would go on the pavement. Obviously no one parked in front of his house then as he had a car on the 'drive' so no one would have wanted to block him in.

The car is no longer there and the neighbour gets really annoyed now if anyone parks in front of his house in 'his spot'. Leaves notes telling you not to park there or passively aggressively parks his car really close to whoever parks there making it difficult to move your car. He thinks his dropped kerb gives him the automatic right to park his car there and no one else.

YABU - you shouldn't park there as there's a dropped kerb

YANBU - it's a public highway so park away

YABU. So entitled.

Well, it is a problem because you're not supposed to park across your own dropped kerb.

Or do people with disabilities not matter at all to you?

I am always confused by this. If someone hasn’t paid to drop their kerb then are there no access points? As soon as someone pays to drop the kerb does it become a public access point? I am just interested in the legal answer because I can’t find one.

I took this to mean that they park on the road side rather than blocking the footpath.... like in the diagram that OP posted?

I am a bit confused by your response as no one seems to be talking about parking across footpaths.

I got that impression when you made a point of asking if he shouldn't be parking there either.

Of course your neighbour CANNOT park in front of a dropped kerb either - they can be fined for this! It's NOT strictly for easier access for cars, you see.

Highway Code Rule #243

Rule 243 of the Highway Code identifies where you are not allowed to park. One of the restrictions is that you can’t park where the kerb is lowered to provide easier access for wheelchairs and powered mobility vehicles. The only exception to the rule is that you are only allowed to stop or park in these places when stationary traffic forces you to do so.

And:

Rule 243

DO NOT stop or park:

near a school entrance

anywhere you would prevent access for Emergency Services

at or near a bus or tram stop or taxi rank
on the approach to a level crossing/tramway crossing

opposite or within 10 metres (32 feet) of a junction, except in an authorised parking space

near the brow of a hill or hump bridge
opposite a traffic island or (if this would cause an obstruction) another parked vehicle

where you would force other traffic to enter a tram lane

where the kerb has been lowered to help wheelchair users and powered mobility vehicles

in front of an entrance to a property
on a bend

where you would obstruct cyclists’ use of cycle facilities

except when forced to do so by stationary traffic.

Of course it becomes a public access point even if you pay for a dropped kerb yourself. Can you pay to own the pavement space outside your house?

Of course not!

Same principle applies to a dropped kerb. The Highway Code is very clear there's only ONE exception to parking in front of a dropped kerb.....when forced to do so temporarily by stationary traffic .

But this specifically says where the kerb has been lowered to help wheelchair users and powered mobility vehicles. It doesn’t necessarily mean all dropped kerbs are for this purpose. In my road there are a couple of dropped kerbs that do not have a drive attached near each end of the road. I assume it means those. I don’t park over my kerb before you think that. I am just interested in the idea that as soon as you drop a kerb it becomes an access point for all.

Parking over a dropped kerb in front of your own driveway is classed as an obstruction which is prohibited under Rule 243.

Parking on your own driveway is NOT an obstruction for anyone.

Huge difference between the two situations. 🤦‍♂️

I don’t mean own the pavement but if there was no dropped kerb there would be a car parked there so no access either. Does that mean people who rely on dropped kerbs are reliant on private individuals to pay to have their kerbs dropped?

Every day’s a school day! We had a dropped kerb and driveway in our old house, and regularly parked across it rather than using the drive. Never in the eight years we lived there did I think it was a problem. Plenty of other houses in the street, especially those with two cars and a single drive did the same.

Except it is classed as an obstruction since it would morally prevent a person in a wheelchair from gaining access. Hence the restriction.

If you can find any law which states dropped kerbs in front of driveways aren't public access points, you're welcome to post it since that's your argument. Good luck!

Nobody can legally or morally own a part of the public pavement outside one's property. This includes the dropped kerb.

Honestly, it’s his dropped kerb. Of course you shouldn’t park there- can’t believe you have to ask.

I agree with PPs - you can't park there, but he can - this council's website is quite good - Havering Council

It does seem a bit of a sneaky way to reserve your own parking spot though! I bet he doesn't park on his driveway because in reality it's too small and awkward to use.

Our local council has a lot of similar style roads and a number of years ago they banned any new dropped kerb requests in these types of roads as it was acknowledged that the frontage of the houses was actually too small to fit a car and you could achieve more parking by using the road (albeit you aren't guaranteed to be able to park in front of your own house).

In our council's case, the existing dropped kerbs were able to remain, so now it's a bit of a bodge job of some people having them and some not.

If parking is an issue OP, perhaps contact your local councillor to see if you can get a residents' parking permit scheme in operation. It won't solve the issue, but if you've got people that aren't residents parking there it might free up some spaces.

Yes, people in wheelchairs and powered mobility vehicles ARE reliant on a mix of the Council paying to drop kerbs and private individuals paying for it.

A couple of caveats:

1. Unlikely to get the relevant authorities to enforce it.

2. Some councils permit it in a limited way, e.g. visitors to your house can park there since they're a temporary obstruction.

No one should be parking there, including him. However I wouldn’t do anything about it as it’s his “drive”

You could report him for parking at his own dropped kerb. 😉

Additionally, enforcement authorities will usually only take action upon the request of a property owner who owns the driveway.

"Operational guidance issued by the Department for Transport (DfT) suggests that authorities should not take enforcement action where a vehicle is parked outside residential premises unless the occupier has asked the enforcement authority to do so."

Explains all those cars parked in front of dropped kerbs in front of driveways.

I always park on my own driveway and never in front of dropped kerb for moral reasons especially, i.e. wheelchairs and powered mobility vehicles access.

We always park in front of our dropped kerb. We can't actually use the drive because the ground from the road to the pavement in front of my driveway is such a steep drop that the bottom of the car scrapes along the ground. A neighbour had to have a wheelchair ramp put onto the verge to safely get from the road to the pavement so I can't imagine any wheelchairs users would be interested in using the dropped kerb outside my house.

I feel a bit annoyed when other people park there, but not enough to say or do anything about it. I think they sometimes do it because there is a grass verge on areas where the kerb hasn't been dropped which is just as steep as the ground on ours, but more slippery because of the grass/mud. My neighbour used to sometimes do it because it was obviously much easier to get her twins out of their car seats when she can stand on solid ground. If I were you, I think I'd stop doing it because you shouldn't be, really. I'd rather not cause friction with neighbours. I think him choosing to block his own drive is a bit different.

It wasn’t my argument, I was just trying to clarify the issue. My council specifically say they don’t ticket for this but others have had tickets so seems to be a bit of a grey area really.

Can’t believe you think it’s reasonable to park across someone else’s dropped kerb providing access to his own drive 🤦🏼‍♀️

I view it as the owner of the house with the dropped kerb can park there but no one else can.

YABVU. You don’t park over a dropped kerb.

He can, because it’s his. You can’t.

But that’s not true. No one should
park on a dropped kerb. It’s against the Highway Code.

Just because some councils are lax in enforcing it doesn’t mean it’s fair to block these kerbs and make life difficult for disabled people.

My disabled mum has to walk daily for health reasons and relies on dropped kerbs as stepping on and off pavements is painful due to her arthritis.

Stop parking on dropped kerbs, any dropped kerbs, even your own.

The car is no longer there and the neighbour gets really annoyed now if anyone parks in front of his house in 'his spot'. Leaves notes telling you not to park there or passively aggressively parks his car really close to whoever parks there making it difficult to move your car. He thinks his dropped kerb gives him the automatic right to park his car there and no one else.

He is passive aggressive for parking his car to close, when he is unable to access his own driveway because it is blocked? Seriously?