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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:
DiscoBeat · 31/10/2023 18:02

He's allowed to park there. I know your building works are unavoidable but I can imagine you might get a mouthful if you try to ask a favour right now. My guess is that the builders have at some point blocked him in so he would rather not have that happen.

kokotheguerilla · 31/10/2023 18:03

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

  1. You admit it’s a problem
  2. The big drive is only a luxury if you can get your car on and off it, and it sounds like he’s been blocked by your builders
  3. I don’t think he’s being petty. I think he’s just quietly moved his car to on street so he can access it without having to start an argument with you or your builders. He’s probably thinking he’s being a good neighbour by not making a fuss.
GetWhatYouWant · 31/10/2023 18:03

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

Hopefully those neighbours will park their cars on the road too to stop the builders parking outside their house. The builders are the last in line when it comes to who should be inconvenienced by your building works.

Riapia · 31/10/2023 18:04

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

What an incredibly stupid question to ask on MN.
😉😁😁

DiscoBeat · 31/10/2023 18:04

Anyway if he's parking across his dropped kerb then that's not a space anyway (technically the neighbour is also wrong for parking there if it is).

Maverickess · 31/10/2023 18:04

It's not down to your neighbour to make sure there's parking for your workmen. If he's been blocked in before by the vans then he's clearly trying to avoid being blocked in again by parking on the road.
He doesn't own the road, but then nor do you and him being able to get out isn't less important than your deliveries or building work. You need to either need to come up with a solution to your workmen's parking woes yourself or they'll have to walk a bit from where they can park to your house, fixing those issues isn't your neighbours responsibility, it's yours or the builders who are parking there.

BitofaStramash · 31/10/2023 18:05

You've obviously pissed them off. This is their revenge.

Go round with wine, chocolates, cake etc and apologise for the disruption and ask if there's anything you can do to mitigate it.

stealthninjamum · 31/10/2023 18:05

Can you do a diagram please?

Sorrytomoan · 31/10/2023 18:06

Currently in the same situation as your neighbour and its hellish to live next door too. So fair play to your neighbour.

MrTiddlesTheCat · 31/10/2023 18:07

Where are you parking OP?

SuperGreens · 31/10/2023 18:08

You can ask, I expect he will laugh in your face. I would have when my arsehole neighbours and their arsehole builders blocked my driveway on and off for a year. Suggest you worry more about your long term relationship with your neighbour, than your builders inconvenience. They'll be long gone, and youll still be neighbours.

FatherJackHackettsUnderpantsHamper · 31/10/2023 18:12

Occasionally a vehicle might stop there whilst we are getting materials delivered/skips collected etc, but not very often at all.

That sounds like quite an inconvenience to me, however often it's happening. Fair enough, maybe, if an Amazon van parks there for 20 seconds whilst the driver races and leaves a small package on somebody's doorstep; but unloading multiple pallets of building materials and delivering/collecting skips can take a very long time when you're needing to get somewhere.

Also, in my experience, many tradespeople never seem to show the same respect to the neighbours when parking. Even though they do obviously need a large space for their van/lorry, there's no attempt to mitigate their impact on or consider the other neighbours, as they seem to think that only their time matters.

PaminaMozart · 31/10/2023 18:13

BitofaStramash · 31/10/2023 18:05

You've obviously pissed them off. This is their revenge.

Go round with wine, chocolates, cake etc and apologise for the disruption and ask if there's anything you can do to mitigate it.

This. Although to be fair, you should have done this BEFORE the work started. This certainly worked for us when we had extensive renovations that took over 3 months - coupled with regular top-ups, i.e. updates, flowers, bottles of wine.

At this point, the best you can do is apologize for the disruption and grovel.

If this doesn't work, the earlier suggestion of parking your car in 'his' spot and moving it for the builders might be your best bet - though it is likely to sour neighbourly relations even further.

SM4713 · 31/10/2023 18:16

YABVU!

Where are YOU living and parking OP?
We've just completed 2yrs of renovating a derelict property. We spoke to our neighbours beforehand, advised of any noisy days and get on very well. THEY approached me, and said we we could use their drives for our car anytime! We lived onsite in a caravan!
Your options are:

  • workmen park where they can on the street and NEVER block your neighbour in!
  • YOU make more space in your own garden for them to park
  • Ask your workmen to consolidate cars/vans if an option (pick up colleague/apprentice rather than extra cars)
  • Limit how many workmen/cars you have each day
Original poster
HolmanHunt · 31/10/2023 18:20

To answer a few questions - yes we are living on site whilst the work is taking place. I accept I'm being unreasonable, I'm just very frustrated at what seems like an unnecessarily passive agressive stance taken by the neighbour.

There seems to be a lot of focus on him being blocked in - it's literally been for a few minutes on maybe 3 occasions in the last 3 months.

OP posts:
crumblingschools · 31/10/2023 18:21

@DiscoBeat I thought you could park across a dropped kerb as long as you are not blocking anyone in.

Witchbitch20 · 31/10/2023 18:22

Perhaps speak to your builders and remind them to be considerate of your neighbours by not blocking their drives even “for a few minutes”.

Userwithallthenumbers · 31/10/2023 18:22

Those who object to their neighbours having renovations done, what do you want to happen? No one has work done? They pay for you to move out for months on end? People are allowed to have their houses sorted. Yes, they need to be considerate, not block driveways, keep noise levels to acceptable hours etc but it isn't being done just to make your lives difficult.

When we had our house done, our neighbours had nothing but sympathy for the fact that it was taking longer than planned, that we had to live through months with no hot water or heating, no roof, all crammed in downstairs into a couple of rooms, while I also did a homebased job. We would take them wine as an apology for the delays and noise, and they would invite us in to share it.

Sorrytomoan · 31/10/2023 18:26

Userwithallthenumbers · 31/10/2023 18:22

Those who object to their neighbours having renovations done, what do you want to happen? No one has work done? They pay for you to move out for months on end? People are allowed to have their houses sorted. Yes, they need to be considerate, not block driveways, keep noise levels to acceptable hours etc but it isn't being done just to make your lives difficult.

When we had our house done, our neighbours had nothing but sympathy for the fact that it was taking longer than planned, that we had to live through months with no hot water or heating, no roof, all crammed in downstairs into a couple of rooms, while I also did a homebased job. We would take them wine as an apology for the delays and noise, and they would invite us in to share it.

Some warning, Some consideration, Some communication and courtesy. We've had nothing.
If it were me I would be talking to my neighbours and apologising.

ButWhatAboutTheBees · 31/10/2023 18:27

You won't be told will you OP?

He obviously feels inconvenienced by the vehicles. Maybe they have blocked him in more than you think (I assume you haven't watched their vehicles every second they are on site?), maybe he's just hacked off with the noise, maybe they haven't directly blocked him in but they've made it hard to pull off, maybe they've been leaving materials outside his drive whilst carrying them in, maybe one of them spoke rudely to him when he asked them to move, maybe its something else

But you are inconveniencing him and you should be apologising not complaining

FatherJackHackettsUnderpantsHamper · 31/10/2023 18:29

I know your building works are unavoidable

But are they, if it's improvements/renovations rather than repairs?

They may be very important to you, to enable you to live your life in your home the way you want to; but the neighbours may be of the opinion that there was nothing wrong with the property before, so why are you deliberately forcing them thorough weeks/months of work that makes no difference to them?

Original poster
HolmanHunt · 31/10/2023 18:30

Message received. I'll take round some wine, apologise for any inconvenience, and hope he goes back to parking on his drive.

OP posts:
StarkRealism · 31/10/2023 18:32

I think he’s being petty too OP. I get it might be annoying but shit happens and I don’t tend to be uptight about stuff like this. I’d have mentioned something pre work though.

QueenOfTheLabyrinth · 31/10/2023 18:33

There seems to be a lot of focus on him being blocked in - it's literally been for a few minutes on maybe 3 occasions in the last 3 months.

So why is him parking there such an inconvenience to you then? According to you, your tradesmen have hardly needed the spot.

ThereIbledit · 31/10/2023 18:34

What's on your driveway, OP? Why can't the tradesmen park on your driveway?

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