Neighbours think my drive is a right of way

[Runningonjammiedodgers]

Pic attached.

I live in a row of terreced houses. My house (1) has a path to the front door and a drive way next to my house. Houses 2-5 share a path that leads to the road. There is a strip of grass in front of their houses and then their parking spaces.

Neighbours in house 2 used to walk over the grass to their front door to avoid going the long way up the path. They (and their guests) have now taking to walking down my driveway along my path and jumping over the flower bed in the middle to get to their door. It's really pissing me off! It's my property being treated as a right of way and they walk right past my living room window so there is no privacy. But it's also not causing any damage or inconvenience. Just annoying as hell.

AIBU to ask them to stop using my property as a public footpath? Or do I just need to suck it up?

People are so rude!

Are their pathways shared so technically no2 walks past houses 5, 4 and 3? If so, maybe they think it doesn't matter and is shorter cutting past your house instead?

YANBU, though. It would annoy me, too. I'm not sure if I'd bother asking, though. I think I'd just block access.

Yep. A gate and a nice rambling rose should deter that.

If you wish to avoid confrontation, as some people do maybe go down the route that you are getting a little jumpy with people passing the window & you'd prefer they avoided this going forward.

Is the grassy bit wet? Is that the reason they won’t walk over it? Do the occupants of no. 3,4 and 5 walk over the grassy bit direct to their door?
I’d kill them with kindness and surprise them with some stepping stones (or even second hand slabs from marketplace) to give them a direct route over the grass to their door. It would be obviously rude of them not to take you up on your grand gesture of neighbourliness.

@Runningonjammiedodgers

So they do this? Hmm. That is so annoying. They cross over your car parks and your path. I know it sounds petty but most of us would find this annoying. You just feel intruded upon. We like our private space to be private and respected. God knows we have little enough privacy these days.

Your parking up against your flower bed works but as you say it means your passengers are forced to crawl out of your side.

Anything you put there will also affect your passengers so it's tricky

It's about making it more^^ annoying for them to go your way than the other way. Can you get a grit tub or some other big but not ugly thing to put across the end of your car park space? Or a sack of compost that you are planning to use for the flower bed and leave it there a few weeks or just something that establishes a new habit from them?

And create something tall in the bed between your two houses. So they have to go over onto the grass anyway thus negating the benefits of going around your car parks? And continue with the squeezed parking for a bit. Just make it so it's just too much hassle for them so they develop a new habit of going the other way around.
I take it the ground is tarmac so you can't put a little chain fence along the end of the car park to block the route?

These two ends. Can they be blocked. Is the end of the car park space onto grass or paved. If it's grass can you put in a fence of some sort?

But it's a designated path. They bought the places knowing this.

It's like saying some people have a pavement right outside their houses so people with front gardens should be ok with people walking across their garden

I think most people wouldn't like people walking through their private car parking/garaging area anymore than people walking across the end of their gardens. It's just not normal behaviour

OP when you figure out something that works, if the neighbours get pissy tell them you got sick of lots and lots of people cutting through. Make out it wasn't just them. It was delivery drivers, visitors all manner of people, visitors to the other houses who couldn't figure out the right way and agree that the layout is stupid. Make them feel it's a problem with the development. Not a you against them problem.

If you can I would advise fencing the area. I’ve just had a nightmare with a neighbour doing this and because they made what looked like a footpath across my grass I’ve been told by the Land Registry that ownership isn’t clear. They also pointed out that the area wasn’t fenced in. I asked my neighbour politely not to do it but was ignored. Solicitor’s letters achieved nothing.

Ultimately they need to pick it up with the developer and either put a second path in front of house 2 or put some paving stones in. Simplest thing is probably to remove the grass entirely, put down permeable cover, lots of pebbles and plant something drought proof that will look nice and sculptural but be practical underfoot. The footpath is still there as a surface for heavy loads.

You can generally guess how someone will be based on how they have been. Given they've ignored neighbour requests in the past re noise I would assume they will ignore your request too.

Then when you put up a fence or trellis, they'll likely have a bad attitude because they'll know exactly why you've done it.
Whereas if you just put a high trellis or fencing up and grow plants along it, you're just improving your garden.

Can't block the end of the car parking space as that is how I access my drive from the road. But think a fence or some pushes or booby traps would be good for down the middle of the two houses

Quite like the idea of a few bags of compost as the end of the drive so I can still on the drive but it's difficult to walk between the back of my car and the compost sacks

Would annoy the hell out of me. i would get a fence put up a low one is no good they will just jump over it, something high then prickly shrubs!

YANBU but this happens at mine too, not just with my next door neighbours and their guests but with delivery drivers and postal workers too. I just suck it up because everybody seems to do it and I don’t see what I can do about it.
I think it must be quite common with these types of property set ups.

Assume there’s a management company if it’s a new estate? Call them and tell them what’s going on. They will write to the neighbour

a fence or barriers would or may help

Do you enter your drive from the yellow arrow? If so, could you put a fence along the right hand side all the way round to your front door. If the CF’s do walk up your drive then they can only follow the fence round to your front door

Stupid layout or not, these neighbours and their visitors have no right to trespass on OP's property.

These are your friend OP https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/265245253825?var=0&mkevt=1&mkcid=1&mkrid=710-53481-19255-0&campid=5338268676&toolid=10044&customid=Cj0KCQjwztOwBhD7ARIsAPDKnkDsOneGf45uhPVy7yhkCxDLxD7O_SSBShoRy2BD4AsvkssmNcABaf4aAqSFEALw_wcB

Berberis, and lots of it.

lovely little plant, great for birds too. Grows just enough and great for boundaries.

yes CF and would annoy me.

Bamboo in pots?

As pp suggested, if yellow arrow is car entry, fence it. Or sling red line if you want the flower bed on your side assuming the flower bed is yours. It's kind of weird

If you don't want to approach them as such, could you loiter near the window and when you see them approach to pass to their door, swing your door open and step out and say hi expectedly as if you assumed they were coming to your door (because why else would they be on your property 🙄) that way, you're blocking their way and they would have to explain to you why they're there. It could make them feel awkward enough not to do it again?