Neighbours petty parking

[Samthenanny]

So we have a drive with a dropped kerb, facing the road to our left is a parking space and to the right the neighbours have a dropped kerb also.
The right hand side neighbour is a builder and he has a huge van which he parks over his drive.
for petty reasons he won’t speak to us anymore and semi thinks he owns the road as they’ve lived her the longest, they have another 2 vechicles parked on the road which don’t move for months at a time but have issues if somebody does the same thing.

he’s been parking within millimetres of our dropped kerb for months now, anyway we’ve had a painter for the last week and if we’re both home he’s been parking over our drive but obviously this means said neighbour can’t fit his van over his drive so he’s been deliberately blocking our painter in and once he’s left he’ll move his van as close as possible so nobody can park over our drive.
it’s such a big van getting off our drive means visability is 0 when driving off. We always reverse on and honestly have to inch forward and hope there’s no traffic coming and with having a normal parking space to the left if a van also parks there that’s a van each side with no viability either way.
what would you do? And thanks for reading, as its slightly long and boring

Park one car in your drive and the other outside? Where their van currently is.

I agree. He’ll get really annoyed but make it clear that you’ll carry on doing so until he stops being ridiculous.
And get good cameras set up.

The Van is parked over his own drive.

Just park in 'his' spot. Or do the same,.mm from his driveway. Both cars on the street.

Also check the deeds of your property, there may be a covenant regarding commercial vehicles being parked on the estate.

I would partially block my own drive and go as close to his as possible. Exactly like he is doing to OP

Yeah the white van is parked over his own drive but can move back as there’s plenty of kurb on his back end, that’s how he parked for a long time then we asked him to turn power tools off at 8pm one evening and since then the pettiness has come out.
so he parks as close to the dropped kerb just to make it annoying for us

Park one of your cars on the road. Partially blocking your own drive? Simple

@ZekeZeke that would be possible if the space to the left was free but 95% of the time it’s taken

I would park one car on the drive and the other elsewhere on the street.

I absolutely would not get into a parking war because it would be stressful but also, you can't ever 'win' because you don't know the rules because the opposition is nuts.

What is important is not being killed getting on and off your drive and living peacefully in your own home.

I wouldn't give a toss if this fruitcake thought he had got one over on you.

Also, I'd consider getting one of those curved mirrors for seeing the street when you are leaving the drive. Maybe on that lamppost.

https://www.toolstation.com/convex-blind-spot-mirror/p58897?utmsource=googleshopping&utmmmedium=feed&utmcampaign=googleshoppingfeed&mkwid==dc&pcrid=null&pkw=null&pmt=null&gadsource=1&gbraid=0AAAAAD-vLcU0VClB0xVjKSw88Bvyssglm&gclid=Cj0KCQjwtZK1BhDuARIsAAy2Vzv1qVuEulgkku8g-k7oDliR5yTCplj3woTdsI26byQ7Y2ts2PDdvHkaAi9PEALwwcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

I would suggest speaking to the council first and find out if anyone can park in the street or if residents have priority or a right to park outside their house. Residents often think that they have a legal right to park outside their house but this may not always be the case.

Personally I would not advise boxing in or blocking your neighbour's parking as this will only escalate matters and here you need to try and de-escalate with your neighbour.

If your neighbour won't speak then you could write a polite letter explaining the issue and saying that you would like to try and resolve the matter in an amicable way. Be very careful how you word the letter and DO NOT SAY ANYTHING THAT COULD IN ANY WAY BE CONSIDERED LIBELLOUS OR A REASON FOR LITIGATION AGAINST YOU.

You may find that your neighbour contacts you and wants to resolve the matter.

If your letter is ignored (probably most likely) or you get a negative/angry response you may need to consult a solicitor.

Sometimes a strongly worded solicitor's letter works wonders.

If you allow things to escalate with your neighbour, such as boxing them in, you may well have to get a solicitor involved anyway.

The car on the left of the photo seems to be obstructing your exit more, unless it’s just the angle. Is that your car or do you have two neighbours being petty? If it’s not yours, might be worth seeing if whoever owns that one would park a bit further back.

Ask the council to paint T bars.

Widen your dropped curb?

I actually thought the sloped curb was also meant to be kept clear?

My personal view is that restrictions are needed on the parking of vehicles over 5m long so they have to be parked 'off road'

OP,
the parking wardens in my area are MILITANT for ticketing cars parked over dropped kerbs. Doesn’t matter whether it’s the house owners car parked over their own dropped kerb, they’d be getting a ticket.

Maybe it’s different in every area, but I’d just ring your parking enforcement line and see if they’d send someone out. Just pretend you’re the owners of the neighbours house and say someone’s parked over your dropped kerb 🤷🏻‍♀️

We had a similar issue and a person from the traffic and infrastructure department came and had a look. He said that a parking bay needs to be 1.5 meters away from dropped kurb. They had to put in an application and it took around 10 months. Perhaps you can request to move out the bay where the dark car is parked... also what is behind where the white van? Is it another bay? Does the builder have family? Do you have young children... I would make a case of endangering lives and reducing your enjoyment of property due to zero visibility. Go as far as speaking with your safer neighbourhood team. They not same as Police so will pay you a visit... whereas Police wouldn't.

This^

The parked car on the left supposedly in a parking space is far more encroaching over your drive. Is that really a space?!?!

Personally I'd move. He is clearly a dick. Probably small penis or premature ejaculation syndrome so not much you can do.

Sadly OP people parking like this, is a fact of life these days, however, we have to deal with it, and even if you manage to get something done about your difficult neighbour and his parking, it's going to take a while. So in your shoes, I would just continue as you are, edging out an inch at a time, while sounding your horn frequently and loudly as you do so. This should be enough to alert anyone approaching of danger, and hopefully the noise of the beeping every time you go out will annoy him.

Realistically the only thing you can do will be apply to have the dropped kerb extended even wider meaning he cannot park there. That will depend on the council approving the work of course.

Submit the above photo with your application to demonstrate how unsafe your neighbours van is making your exit, specifically in terms of visibility as well as proximity.

Failing that is there a way of applying for a yellow line on the ground of highway safety? You need to discuss the options with the Council. They take things like this seriously but it will usually be a slow process.

In my area it's illegal to park with a meter of a dropped kerb. Can you check with the council?

Can you ask the council to drop the curb more? It might just be the angle but both the van and the car seem to be over your drive because there’s not much dropped curb.

if he is moving his van after your painter has left to a millimetre of your dropped kerb, does that not say your decorator has been parking over their drive? Also the car on the left looks like it is parking over your driveway. I don’t fully understand the issue.

The people across the street seem to have very broad dropped kerbs with nobody parking anywhere near them. Is yours like that or can you get it more like that?

You can avoid getting a ticket for parking over your own kerb "in most places by registering your vehicle with the local council. They’ll require the make, model, and registration of your vehicle along with proof of residence. Once that information is registered, you’ll be safe parking on your own dropped kerb."