Another dropped kerb question!

[MulledWhiney]

Inspired by the dropped kerb thread earlier this week, I’d love some opinions on my own situation. I’ve tried to be objective and disguise whether I am House A or House B, and spent my lunch break drawing this diagram to help!

House A has a double drive (side-by-side spaces, picture isn’t wide enough to show all of the drive) behind the house. House A has one car, (yellow) which always parks on the road in front of House A. No cars park on House A’s drive.

House B has a T-shaped drive. You could fit two small cars side-by-side, but not the two cars that belong to House B (red car is a big car). These always park in the configuration on House B’s drive as shown, and it is never used as a double side by side drive.

The orange line indicates a dropped kerb, brown indicates driveway and green is grass/bushes. The road is a cul-de-sac with a wall on the right hand side of the picture.

House B’s occupants regularly ask House A’s occupants to move the yellow car, on grounds of struggling to get in/out of the driveway. House A then move the car closer to the wall/further back (up and right on the picture).

House A thinks House B can get out perfectly fine, and it is closer to park in front of the house than the driveway at the back. It is hard to parallel park by a wall, which is why space is left between the car and the wall. The front of the car is facing down on the picture, so the driver’s side is not against the wall.

House B thinks House A should park on their own driveway, and not block the dropped kerb of House B.

All exchanges have been very friendly and light-hearted, but there is clearly a difference of opinion about where it is/isn’t ok to park (as well as a difference in opinion about how much space is needed to manoeuvre a car out of a drive 😂).

Do you think it is ok for House A to park the yellow car there? It is always blocking some (but not over half) of the dropped kerb, but how close House A can park the yellow car to the wall and how easy/possible it is for House B to get the red car out is a difference of opinion (or driving capability!) It’s a new build estate and we both moved in around 6 months ago.

You're house B and should park on house A's drive

I'd put a skip there, even if it inconveniences me. But I m very petty.

Your neighbours in House A are dickheads.

Has the dropped kerb situation changed, does anyone know? Many parking threads for years have had it otherwise.

The dropped kerb law hasn't changed. People have just been posting incorrect advice.

I appreciate the work - it's a work of art OP but as it's a new estate there must be a planning diagram that would give a clearer and fuller overall picture of the house and road layout. I had so many questions: is it a private road or public adopted by the council; entrances and exits; are there pavements and any road markings or restrictions on parking; where is your house; is it semi or detached and so on. It looks as if A car is obstructing B's access to B's parking and it's hard to see how to be lighthearted about that.

I think the trouble is that they don’t think that they are obstructing me getting in and out. If they parked right up against the wall, then I could get out fine, but the problem is that they don’t park up against the wall at all.

When I have asked them to move, they say they didn’t realise I couldn’t get in/out, and they thought I would be able to. They do always move when asked, but I haven’t plucked up the courage to ask them can they just park on their drive please (or like one poster said, if they aren’t using their drive, can I park on it and at least then I know I can get out 😂).

They do have a back gate on the their drive, leading to the their back garden and back door. They just seem to prefer to park at the front of the house and use the front door.

I don’t have the estate plans to hand, but I can tell you that there are no road markings on the estate at all and it hasn’t been adopted by the council, so I unfortunately don’t think the council would be able to do anything.

It appears it's a private access road and they're parking on the road but there are no road markings or signs to prohibit parking. Are there any covenants that you all signed up to when you bought? There usually are some, for example about hedge heights and various other obligations that you mutually have to abide by. There might be something about parking. Are there any visitors' parking places or rules about visitors and parking?

It's understandable that you don't want a war and may hesitate to ask them to use their drive, especially if you are on your own but then you get put upon. Have you any family or friends driving in and out who could back you in asking?

as it’s a new estate who do you pay service charges to? That will be who you need to contact

@Lori78i Ours can do nothing about parking here as they say they have no legal right to do so. Until the roads are adopted by the council in ten years or so time, the roads here have no laws. People can and do park wherever they like with no repercussions.

I would ask them to move everytime they park there.

So they park, go ask them to move, drive round the block in your car, come back park.

They park there ask them to move, drive round the block etc etc

Or put a bin store there or plant pots big heavy ones

This 👆

Or park somewhere else entirely. Parking over a dropped kerb is never a good thing, unless it is the dropped kerb across one's own drive. Even then....

I think you explicitly need to say to them that it's not an intended parking space, and so you would prefer if they would park on their drive as intended, or elsewhere that doesn't affect your access. Do it with a bright smile, lots of "I know this is a bit awkward but hopefully we'll be neighbours a long time and I don't want to get off on the wrong foot".

The basic rule is just don't park over dropped kerbs. So in this situation house A needs to just stop parking over it.

Contact your council and get H bars painted on. Then the council will put a ticket on the car if they park on them. You can call the council to report it and they send someone out in one of those weird 3 wheeler scooters, well where I live anyway!

Surrey website...

www.surreycc.gov.uk/roads-and-transport/parking/restrictions-and-controls/access-protection-markings-h-bars#:~:text=Vehicles%20obstructing%20access&text=They%20can%20issue%20a%20penalty,marking%20painted%20on%20the%20road.

Also could you put some white painted stones down. Will add a photo. Might mean they have to park further away from the wall, so would obviously be causing an obstruction in the road and you could call the police.