Neighbour using my drop kerb!

[mykerb]

A new family have moved in next door - not attached we are a row of two semi's each and so on..
I have a driveway and a dropped kerb. So it goes my drive, pavement and then the dropped kerb.

My next door neighbours have a make shift drive (from previous tenants) but NO dropped kerb, it doesn't help that their neighbours have 4 cars and two permanently parked outside their garden so the new neighbours have nowhere to park except down the road because of it but again not my problem!

They have started driving over my drop kerb to park in the make shift drive, I have started parking on my dropped kerb to make a point of it and I did block them in, to which the woman politely asked if I could move my car so she could reverse out, I told her I don't appreciate her using the kerb to park in, to which she replied that she is going to be getting the curb outside hers dropped but it will take a while due to getting planning permission etc and it's hard to walk down the road with 3 kids and a newborn so it's just been more convenient, but she won't do it again if it bothers me.

Tbh she hasn't had a chance to park there again as I have started parking in front of my drive, on my dropped kerb but my sister has said I'm being petty for no reason and making her life harder and it's not a big deal! And it's really irked me because now I don't know if I'm being unreasonable or not!

Hmm, not sure she did say that, she said it was helpful to get a kick up the backside sometimes, and it has been. She has a point, but not one worth getting upset about.

That doesn't make it yours. It's still part of the highway and as such is public.
You still cannot park over it.

She’s not parking illegally by parking on the dropped kerb in front of her own driveway. She’s not blocking anyone but herself because legally that dropped kerb should only be used for access to her own property. It’s not illegal to park across a dropped kerb if there is no car on the driveway adjacent to it.

Definition of dog-in-a-manger attitude.
I`m glad OP has seen the error of her ways.
OP will you be apologizing and telling her that you are now OK for her to use your curb?

You actually cannot park over a dropped kerb at anytime. They are not only there to allow access for vehicles, but also for wheelchair access

This is bonkers. Are you making it up as you go along ? Why would one resident pay for a dropped kerb for other people to use ? The neighbour is illegally accessing her property by driving over pavement that has not been reinforced for the weight of a car. OP has had the work done to drop the kerb and reinforce the pavement adjacent to her property. For her own access. Not for the rest of her neighbours.

Tbh it would piss me off if I had taken the time, bother and expense and someone else who hasnt bothered gets the same advantages!

I probably wouldnt park on the road when I have a usable drive though.

Just seethe inwardly!

How childish of you. Especially given her circumstances but even without that, wow

It's not your kerb. Why have you placed driveway in inverted commas?
She sounds polite and reasonable; you don't.

Wheelchair dropped pavements are a completely different thing - they look different so drivers know what they are for and are provided for wheelchair access at certain points along pavements and in car parks. I know, because l’m a wheelchair user. I also know you can park across a dropped kerb because l live opposite a school. On coming home one day a school run mum was parked across my driveway - which was empty. I rang 101 for advice and was told there was nothing they could do because it’s not illegal to park across the dropped kerb at the end of someone’s driveway if there is no car on the drive.

As I said, it is an offecne to park in front of it even in part - where we live, people can ask the council to book all vehicles parked in front of it or part.

They may not own it but its ileage to drive over a pavement unless accessing a designated point in front, in the boundaries of your property - so the other person should not be doing it - but he/she was polite and that is good

My guess is that if the surface broke up it would stay broken up. The council are skint !!

You sound horrible. No wonder your sister is embarrassed of you. Great way to get along with your neighbours 👍

You really are being unreasonable op. Unless she was causing any damage to your property by using the dropped kirb (btw which you don't own as it's a public footpath)
Going out of your way to ask her not to access her own driveway using a public dropped kirb when she has 3 small children to get in and out of the car is extremely petty.

I say this as someone who has on street parking only and I hate having to get my children in and out of the car on a busy road.

Kindness costs nothing op. You don't need to make her life harder for no reason.

sorry edited. I got the wrong end of the stick

Forgot to mention. If OP wanted to, she could apply to the council to have a white line road marking across the length of the dropped kerb. This would mean that it’s an offence for anyone else to park across her driveway or cross the dropped kerb. I did this to stop school run cars parking across my driveway and blocking access as l’m a wheelchair user.

Absolute insanity! It is also illegal to park over a dropped kerb, whether you paid to have it dropped or not. Do you feel the same about mums with buggies or wheelchair users using it?! Most people have too much going on in their lives to even notice this, let alone respond how you have. I recommend a hobby.

OP you’re being a massive tool. You’ve set out the circumstances and said that people are telling you you’re being petty. Loads more people have told you you’re being petty. The poor neighbour has explained that they’re in the process of getting the work started to drop their own kerb and you’ve also explained to us all that because her neighbours on the other side have loads of cars she can never park near her house which is a massive pain when she has multiple kids. And you’re still clinging onto the tiny hope that you might be able to report her for driving on the pavement?

well done, you win an award for being the most petty neighbour. Let’s hope you never need anything from your neighbour!

She's deliberately parking on the road so new neighbour can't use her dropped kerb.

Beautifully put, and the second paragraph is true, sadly.

Wow go you putting your neighbouring queen down while she’s handling young children!!
does it make you feel good parking your car so you deliberately put her children at risk to traffic having to get from down the road? Do you let them use the pavement between your drive and the kerb or do you demand they bypass that too?
I really hope she remembers how petty and pathetic you are being should you ever need help!!!

one disgusted mother owner of private driveway for 5 cars she shares with neighbours to allow safe loading and unloading of their young children because there’s space for 5 and I only have 1!!!

Your unedited question was relevant though! OP possibly normally parks on her drive, but has switched to parking on the road specifically to thwart her new neighbour.

I think that having someone driving diagonally across your drive regularly to get to theirs could cause issues so I don’t think it’s that petty, doesn’t sound like a huge fight was caused but I do sympathise with the neighbour moving her children around. Is the issue that they are driving across the front of your drive and that could cause damage and possible collisions?

The poster who said you didn't pay for the kerb, you paid for the work involved in making it a dropped kerb to be done is correct.

I paid for the council to plant a tree in the verge outside our gaff. There had been one previously but it had come down in the storms we've had. I chose the species from a list and paid for it, but I was actually paying for the contractors to fetch the tree from the nursery, convey it to the verge and plant it with a supporting stake. I do not at any point own the tree, just because I paid for it. I do feel a bit protective of it but I know it's not mine to decide what to do with. It's the council's property planted in council land. Your dropped kerb is exactly the same; you paid for the work to be done only. That's all.

It pays to be considerate and thoughtful of your neighbours. Having a good rapport with the people who live close to you makes a big difference to your quality of life. I would be looking to make amends with her pronto if I were you.

So again, why do you think using someone elses’ dropped kerb to access another driveway is without consequence ? It was pointed out upthread somewhere that the pavement in front of OP’s drive has been reinforced to take a car as part of the works she paid for. The rest of the pavement hasn’t, so the neighbour is damaging the pavement by driving across it. And as you pointed out, that pavement is a public footpath, so any damage is potentially going to cause injury if someone on foot trips as a result. Could that possibly be the reason that residents have to apply to the council for access to their own driveways instead of using other peoples’ ?