Neighbours walking on our driveway

[Mumof3andlab]

Hello,

I will try to add a pic if it’s helpful. We are a semi detached end house, we have 3 parking spaces outside our house which is our driveway. Next door has a side path and massive drive to the SIDE of their house, they fit 4 cars on there.

however, they keep walking on our drive to cross to the neighbours opposite, or just stand and have a chat. For starters I think it’s just rude and secondly my dog is very territorial and it sets him off barking as he can see someone is there through the glass.

Previously we have told their friends/visitors it’s not their drive as they used to park on it! Now to stop that we park closer to their side of the house and leave our other side free (I get a lot of parcels, Asda van, my own visitors ect) we used to have 2 cars but only one at the moment. I’m sure if we have more cars they wouldn’t do it but just feel like they think we only have one so we don’t ‘need’ all that space.

I wondered if I could decorate the outside of our driveway with plants, or something else? To stop them crossing over or am I just being petty.

All I can think is what a terrible, money-grubbing design it is. I don't think your neighbours are being rude...the design actively invites the intrusion by having your drive interloping on their entrance. This will have been so they could sell your property as having three parking spaces for a four bedroomed house. If they'd have stuck to two spaces it would be much more defined and aesthetically pleasing...but they wouldn't be able to ask as much for the house.

If you look at the site plan they could have aligned the 3 spaces with the party wall between the two houses by simply shifting them a few feet to the right (looking towards the front of the house) and reducing the amount of free space to the right (which indicates a tree and green area on the site plan).

You have to ask yourself why they didn't do this.

What? Why is that sad?

😂 Wish mine was as bright as that.

You need to find your legal report from your solicitor when you bought the property. That will have all the details including what you can and cannot do on the spaces. The reason that is relevant is because even if you own the spaces there may well be restrictions an on fences / walls etc. that’s how new builds are often set up. It’s meant to foster community living and also reduce crime.

Baffling really as the front garden square meterage would be the same.

That picture wasn't posted by OP

That picture wasn't posted by OP, it was posted as an example by another poster!

It was. It’s gone now so unfortunately I can’t prove it.

Unless of course you wanted to try to make it clear that that land was not associated with that particular property...

That would imply though that the neighbours front garden is not their front garden maybe ? Or that their parking spaces might not actually be their land ?

If so it's a pretty weird set up. Which is why I asked whether there was a service charge associated with it, as if it were not land belonging to the houses there might be some maintenance charge associated with it ?

Left is right. My son's newly built estate has a lot of rules - eg some awful person put up a massive flag pole. The requirements say no flag poles so everyone could force that to be taken down right away

The poster highlighted an area from OP’s photo and re-shared it to ask for clarification on the area. It was OP’s photo.

I hate this. We could do the same with our neighbours driveway but we don't. On the odd occasion one of my children does I tell them off and tell them not to walk on it as it's not our drive. Feel for you.

I agree. I would definitely find it weird and annoying if my neighbours were regularly walking on my driveway. It doesn’t matter where the neighbours’ door is, the picture clearly shows a pathway from their front door towards their driveway. It’s pretty obvious that they should be using the path and their own driveway and not trespassing on the OP’s.

If you needed to pick up a parcel from the NDN, would you go up your imaginary path, across the pavement and then back down their imaginary path, or would you just walk through the imaginary border?

You need to stop using ChatGPT to compose posts @kimbear87.

It's allocated parking, no issue with anyone walking over it.
We viewed a new build house (barrats) with 3 bays less than a meter in front of the living room window, 4 bed detatched, and not all of the spaces belonged to the house. Is your house number on all 3 bays, if you look at the plans its likely a mistake, and some meant as visitors spaces which are for any visitors not just yours

You need to stop using ChatGPT to compose posts @kimbear87.

Oh I thought that was just me being overly suspicious. Does smell of bot doesn't it?

Normally I'm in the get off my land CF camp. But, as others have said, it's not lined up well with the properties.

If I needed to go left down the road, would I (on occasions), nip across your drive rather than go down my silly windy path to the right, then back along the road? Possibly if I'm being honest. I'd draw the line at standing and chatting though.

I would just park my car to that side. No need to set up fences etc.

They will just get back into the habit of leaving their house in the way it was designed, by turning right out of their door, along their path.

😂

Oh god, a new issue for MN to contend with

..."with which MN must contend".... (I am in a dispute with ChatGPT as it ends sentences with prepositions and puts commas all over the place.... it is being very polite when I tell it off). Mind you my son told me yesterday you could simply tell it not to end sentences with prepositions and it would obey you so may be that's my answer.

We have the same problem, even worse - our corner is a garden and people just step on the grass and flowers to shave a few inches of their walk.

Cars drive on it too... I fix it in Spring and by summer it's a muddy mess.

It is disturbing and I thought to put some prickly plants but then I thought about an ambulance having to make more manoeuvres to reach the other street and I care more about their health.

There's some acceptance that needs to come with living in a built-up area.

One day I'll build a fortress on a hill, somewhere forsaken in the north... One day...

You may well find you can't, who is the house builder? They will have stipulated lots of things, probably the planning permission for the development will also have details.

Plant pots are movable so you can probably get away with it but you are sending out a very passive aggressive message to your neighbour aren't you. Looks like you are the end of a cul de sac and your windows do not look onto where you are thinking of putting them so your message would be clear.

The thing with hostility is it generally escalates so think about whether you fancy having that relationship with your neighbour. Personally I've always found a benefit in overlooking some annoying neighbour behaviours so that when I'm away I have someone to keep an eye on the house, someone to bring in a bin etc. Not much to gain from winning a battle like the one you are setting up here.

I don’t quite understand… what’s the big deal?
You sound like an awful and petty neighbour