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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Neighbours blocking my builder from parking

96 replies

HolmanHunt · 31/10/2023 17:35

We are in the middle of a big renovation project. (Pretty much knocking house down and rebuilding it). I understand that it's disruptive to the neighbours with the noise and number of works vehicles etc. However, my neighbour has taken to parking his car on the street outside of his house rather than parking on his drive, presumably to stop the works vehicles from parking there. There is room for at least 3 cars on his drive. It's making it difficult for the workmen and my builder, who are now having to park some of their vehicles down the street.

Would I be unreasonable to ask my neighbour to go back to parking on his drive?

OP posts:
Mumoftwotoddlers · 31/10/2023 17:38

Yes YABU! You're already inconveniencing neighbours with building work, now you want to tell them where they can park

EvilElsa · 31/10/2023 17:39

Are the builders blocking him in when they park?

Original poster
HolmanHunt · 31/10/2023 17:42

EvilElsa · 31/10/2023 17:39

Are the builders blocking him in when they park?

Occasionally a vehicle might stop there whilst we are getting materials delivered/skips collected etc, but not very often at all. I do understand that it's annoying, but this seems very petty. He doesn't own the road!

OP posts:
sunshinesupermum · 31/10/2023 17:46

He doesn't own the road neither do you OP! I suspect he's been blocked in more than not very often and that's why he's taken to parking on the road outside his own house. YABVU

tattychicken · 31/10/2023 17:47

You are obviously pissing him off, which is understandable. Renovation works are a PITA. I wouldn't say anything to him to try to preserve future neighbourly relations. You're going to have to live next door to him so try to be sympathetic with how much your building works will be disturbing him.

Sirzy · 31/10/2023 17:47

HolmanHunt · 31/10/2023 17:42

Occasionally a vehicle might stop there whilst we are getting materials delivered/skips collected etc, but not very often at all. I do understand that it's annoying, but this seems very petty. He doesn't own the road!

Show quote history

you don’t own the road either!

user701 · 31/10/2023 17:48

HolmanHunt · 31/10/2023 17:42

Occasionally a vehicle might stop there whilst we are getting materials delivered/skips collected etc, but not very often at all. I do understand that it's annoying, but this seems very petty. He doesn't own the road!

Show quote history

Oh the irony

Original poster
HolmanHunt · 31/10/2023 17:49

I realise I don't own the road either. It just seems very petty that he's leaving his drive empty and deliberately causing my builders issues.

OP posts:
Nothanksthanksanyway · 31/10/2023 17:49

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

GasPanic · 31/10/2023 17:50

He doesn't own the road. But you don't either.

In an ideal world you could ask him and he would be polite and move. But it sounds like from your description he is doing it deliberately, so this is unlikely.

Have you considered parking one of your own cars on the road in the space to block out the space and then moving it when the builders come ?

Another alternative might be to get a skip and a skip licence to park the skip on the road where the car is, and then free up the space wherever your skip is.

The bad news being that the further your skip is off your property, the more likely it is to get filled with random crap.

Anyway, it sounds like either reasonably or unreasonably you have annoyed your neighbour. Maybe some relationship mending necessary there.

CalistoNoSolo · 31/10/2023 17:51

You sound like the original neighbour from hell. Why buy a house if you're just going to knock it down and rebuild it? You need to tell your builders to suck it up and to be pleasant to your neighbour, and it wouldn't kill you to take a couple of cases of wine round to him and apologise profusely for making his life a misery.

Gazelda · 31/10/2023 17:53

OP, are you living on site? Or are you elsewhere while your works are ongoing? I wonder whether you realise the full extent of disruption caused.

I have to admit bias here though. A house in a neighbouring road is undergoing extensive works (while the owners rent elsewhere) and they have so many vans blocking access down our street that we've twice not had our bins emptied because the cart can't get through.

Newgirls · 31/10/2023 17:54

Are you living there? Do you know what it’s like?

EvilElsa · 31/10/2023 17:55

I knew he would have been blocked in. That's why he parks there. Nothing you can do about it, he's entitled to use his car easily when he wants and not wait for lorries to move.

Changedname81 · 31/10/2023 17:57

If I’d been blocked in more than twice I’d do exactly the same thing tbh …

ChardonnaysBeastlyCat · 31/10/2023 17:57

HolmanHunt · 31/10/2023 17:42

Occasionally a vehicle might stop there whilst we are getting materials delivered/skips collected etc, but not very often at all. I do understand that it's annoying, but this seems very petty. He doesn't own the road!

Show quote history

Neither do you. Own the road that is.,

GetWhatYouWant · 31/10/2023 17:58

I have absolutely no sympathy with you. Have you any idea how horrible it is living next door to big renovations? Next door to me the new owners who haven't even moved in are having 3 months of renovations with all sorts of trades turning up. At the beginning they blocked my drive so I had to ask them to move. I asked the project manager to make sure no one parked over my drive, then they started parking so their vans were literally right at the edge of the drive making it hard for me to turn in and out of my drive( long 3 to 4 car drive too). They also used my drive to turn the vans around instead of driving up to the top of the cul de sac. I put up with this once or twice feeling very annoyed about their inconsiderate behaviour then realised all would be solved if I parked on the road with my car slightly over the entrance to my drive. Problem solved! No vans turning in my drive and no vans parking right up to my drive. I'll continue to do that till all work is finished, couldn't give a toss if they have to park further down the road. YABVU.

londonmummy1966 · 31/10/2023 17:58

HolmanHunt · 31/10/2023 17:42

Occasionally a vehicle might stop there whilst we are getting materials delivered/skips collected etc, but not very often at all. I do understand that it's annoying, but this seems very petty. He doesn't own the road!

Show quote history

We had this when our horrible neighbours gutted their house and their equally horrible builders parked scaffolding lorries/Travis Perkins delivery lorries/ load up and take away skips accross our drive. It might only be for 30 minutes at a time but 30 minutes twice or sometimes more a day adds up. Especially annoying when said lorry won't move when you need access to your drive.

DOn't get me started on how the bulders would leave empty pallets in the road to reserve their parking space for the next day - in the bay by the on street electric charging point everyone wants to use.....

MrTiddlesTheCat · 31/10/2023 17:59

YABU This is a consequence of your/your builders actions.

Original poster
HolmanHunt · 31/10/2023 17:59

Also - it means the builders are having to park further down the street, so just moving the problem to another neighbour who maybe doesn't have the luxury of a big drive

OP posts:
user701 · 31/10/2023 18:00

No. Your builders shouldn't ever blocking anyone in.

CalistoNoSolo · 31/10/2023 18:01

This reply has been deleted

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stealthninjamum · 31/10/2023 18:01

Op my drive has been blocked in a few times and I’m usually quite blunt when I tell people to move. They always say ‘I’m only going to be a minute’. But they never fucking are. I understand the builders want to keep their tools / building materials close to your house but perhaps they should apologise to your neighbour and ask if they can block his drive before they do it so that they’re not inconveniencing him.

Sanguinello · 31/10/2023 18:01

People with a drive tend to start parking on the road if they can't get out of the drive when they need to.

BooBooBaloo · 31/10/2023 18:02

To ask him would be hugely unreasonable, particularly given that your building work is probably making his life really shit at the moment. He'll most likely be doing it because your builders have been causing a nuisance and he's had enough (unless you are there all the time, I'd suspect they block him in far more than you think)