AIBU for wanting this lorry to park somewhere else?

[HappyButHangry]

We are hoping to move into our new home soon and I have noticed a lorry is always parked outside it. It belongs to someone who lives down the side road but that road is too narrow for the lorry to go down into.

Not only is it a real eyesore right in front of the house but because our house is sunken from street level it feels even more imposing and blocks out sunlight. We also have to park our own car somewhere else because it is always there.

AIBU for wanting it parked elsewhere? Are there any measures I can take so that he might park somewhere else?

@HappyButHangry is it a huge removal truck?

@HappyButHangry Two things I have done previously that work and one I have not.

First that works, Amazon is your friend search "valve removal tool" less than a fiver (works every time and they soon stop).
Second ask them not to do it or call their employer this has also worked in the past.
Lastly buy a cheap knackered 2nd hand moped or bike leave it chained on the road and move it when you get home.

Before people cry you cant remove their valves ever driver should do basic checks before setting off, so spare me the faux outrage 😂

Lots of people have suggested you ring the council about it.

Have you done this?

It's a Luton van! I've had a real education in HGVs! I've always just called these things lorries! And I now feel like I probably can't say anything!

I have emailed the local council (they don't have a phone system for this type of thing)

Ah, that changes a lot of what I said before, then. I was assuming you meant full-on removal lorry. Luton vans are big, but not in the same league as what I was envisioning - you can drive one with a normal car licence.

This is not necessary true. As others have said. There are restrictions on commercial vehicle parking in residential areas.

a lot of the cars on the road park on the pavement like that... I wonder if that's allowed in the first place..

You're not going to be popular with the neighbours if you complaining about the van brings about them all losing their ability to park! Do you have a drive or will you be needing to park on the pavement too? Sounds like a PiTA, is it not out for a large amount of the day and just their in the evening?

if you get a classic car there is no mot and you can get classic insurance. and the car will not depreciate as much as an old banger.

worth looking into (has to be 40 years old at minimum i think)

If it's moved it will be parking in front of someone else's who will be equally annoyed! Though it should be parked in front of the owners house if possible. Does it move during the day (you may not know but do a drive by mid day).
Get the council to put a parking restriction for your own moving van for the day you move in and then put your car in its place when they leave. If you use public transport for work try and leave it there as long as possible. It might break the van drivers habit. Where I live it's terraced housing and we try and be considerate of each other to allow people to park in front of their own houses whenever possible (apologies to my neighbours across the street as there's a skip on my immediate neighbour's frontage which has taken up half of the space in front of my house so I have to park there and I don't use my car much so it's sat there)!

Assuming the removal van goes out to work now and again, can you not park your car there when it goes?

Obviously you then cannot ever use your car again in case it comes back - so buy a bicycle...

Or - given you live near whoever it is that operates the removal van - can you not observe over time what hours it comes and goes and make sure your car is there when he's likely to come back? It's a bit cat & mouse, but over time you'll break the habit of that being the space he always parks in.

You could also approach your new neighbour, say hello, and ask if he'd mind not always parking there as it blocks your light.

@mondaytosunday - sorry we posted quite similar things! I should have read all the way down 😊

I was confused from the OP, with the info that it couldn't fit down the narrow street where the van owner lives. It must be a very tiny road if you can't get a Luton down there. That's what led me to assume it was a proper lorry-type removal van.

A Luton isn't all that much bigger overall than a standard builder's van - it's just boxier. Does it even technically count as a commercial vehicle, considering that anybody with a standard car licence can drive one?

If the road where the owner lives is an actual road - i.e. one that cars can freely access - surely he would be able to pick a quiet moment and reverse it in, down to his drive or outside his own home? Other than the issue of turning, it shouldn't take up that much more of a 'footprint' than a large MPV.

I suspect there's nothing you can do about it, it's only a van, not a lorry.

Is it going to be in the way for your removals lorry? Pita. I notice there are suddenly about 10 transit vans parked on the main road outside our street. It’s such a pain to get past.

The van must move. I’d just keep parking my car there until it parked somewhere else

You would need to get there first every time 🤣

True. You’d hope the op would be able to get in there first at least some of the time and it might encourage the van driver to find another spot if his usual spot kept being taken

As long as he doesn't do like someone near us and leave his car in "his" space when he goes to work.

So we've been going to the new house a lot because we have builders in at the moment. Sometimes he's there, sometimes he isn't and when he is, our builders have to park somewhere else. We don't have a driveway but we are considering putting one in. It's a corner plot so the entrance to the driveway would go from the side and so he could still park in front of the house.

With regards to his road being narrow, it's just a narrower than average road I think and I assumed it wouldn't be able to fit down it - it has cars parked on either side and mounting the pavement with very little space on the pavement to walk.. and the road is then only wide enough for one car single file.

Woe!