To think we can park here?

[ShopTattsyrup]

AIBU to just ignore this letter and keep parking?

I live on a very short stretch of street that is just 4 terraces at the back of a church. Opposite our houses is the car park for the church and for it's church hall.

All 4 families who live on this stretch know eachother fairly well, no drives or garages and so the unoffical rule is that you park outside your own house and if you have a second car you park on the other side of the street behind the church (where there is space for two neatly parked cars while allowing a good clearance of the dropped curb entrance to the church car park).

Last week we all got the same letter, seemingly from this church, asking us to refrain from parking on the side next to the church as it impedes entry to our car park.

Now one of my neighbours has lived here for >20 years and the existing parking arrangement has never been an issue. I've lived here for 3 and the street is more than wide enough to have cars parked on both sides and drive comfortably through the centre. There's no double yellows etc.

What makes me think this letter is a load of bollocks is that the letter is signed from "St Christopher's Church" - surely if it were official it would say From Rev. John Smith or similar? Or be from the council?

I've been on the Leadership Team of my Church several times over the years. I've never seen a piece of headed notepaper in all those decades.

There just isn't any cause for it..

But, as many others have said, if you want to discuss it with someone, then just wander in at the end of the service on a Sunday morning (or if you see lights on, and cars parked, one evening). Surely, after living there for 3 years, you must be aware approximately what time they meet? Or you can guess from the cars parked there ?

I don't see why you need to respond anyway. They've made a request. You think it an unreasonable one, so just ignore it.

Though, it goes against the highway code to park 2 - 3 feet from a junction, if I've interpreted that correctly ?

Would your team send such a letter without any name or contact details?

OP doesn't know who made the "request" and has no idea who to approach to speak to them.

And so she should ignore the letter.

I don't think we should get bogged down in the Highway Code rules on distance from a junction, because looking at the OP's sketch, unless she and her neighbours have incredibly narrow houses (or long cars) it's not drawn to scale!

@Gonners - it was what she said in one of her posts

Leave a note in your car: "Jesus said I could park here'.

No, because sending letters to people never works in those sorts of situations.
We have worked hard to build good relations with our neighbours, and we speak to each other when there is an issue.
I was just responding to the people who seem to think
a) every Church has its own vicar
b) every church has its own headed notepaper.

I don't think the letter itself is helpful at all.

@ClairDeLaLune There's nothing wrong with my reading skills thank you. The cars being parked near the exit are making it difficult for the church goers to leave the car park.

In answer to the questions about clearance either side of the road: to be fair in my head I was measuring by eye from the end of the car to the end of the house and not including the pavement width. So the actual distance is probably closer to 6 or 7 ft - which I appreciate is still below the advised limit.

In answer to the questions about how I've managed to live over the road from a Church without seeing its service times: I face the back of the church, So I know that it is a Sunday but given that I don't attend the Church I can honestly say that I've never noticed if it's every Sunday, 0900 or 1100 etc. But yes - if my neighbour who has emailed a nearby Church for advice has not heard back by next Sunday - one of us can go over and speak to someone.

If, for example, the Church asked us to keep the two cars on the church side clear for Sunday mornings this would not be the end of the world, if it were a polite and reasonable conversation I think me and my neighbours would be happy to park on the left hand side street (which is where whoever doesn't get the 2 spaces over the street parks anyway) on Sunday mornings. That would be a reasonable compromise - but in order for us to come to that compromise, we do actually need to know what the issue is as opposed to just telling us not to park on our own street in general - which feels less reasonable.

If they are stroppy, I have a Master Plan, @ShopTattsyrup. Find out when the service is and, next Sunday, get everyone in the street to move their cars into the church car park. You'd have to attend the service, of course ... so maybe it's not worth it?

Its a dead end to the right

Agreed - very nice cursive!,
it makes me think you are also a very neat at parking

It doesn't matter who signed it if there's no restrictions in place. If double yellows then council could do you. If private parking and permit bays you could be done. You cannot be done for parking on a street, with no signs or road markings in place. Carry on :)

From the diagram it shows cars double parked and I know from experience that can be a PITA if the road is the width of a typical estate road. It reduces the road to single track and can make turning into side roads or driveways/whatever tighter as well as restricting visibility. I would say there is a non-zero chance you are being unreasonable but without seeing the road for real, cannot say whether the double parking is or isn't an issue.

If you're not breaking any laws just park where you want

I wouldn't do that. If you stop parking on the street, they will take it as that you 'know you were in the wrong' and will claim that those spaces are now commonly accepted as not for parking - and they may well petition the council to paint double yellows there.

Meanwhile, they could declare at any time that any agreement to use their car park now has to end as it 'isn't working anymore' they need the spaces or you've 'offended them' in some way, so they're no longer willing to grant you the privilege. Equally, their leaders or caretakers (whoever they may be) could change and the new one(s) just see the existing double yellows and you using their car park, with no knowledge of any agreement, and assume you're CFs.

Basically, don't voluntarily give up your express legal rights in exchange for a favour.

I agree that it's probably some churchgoer who's a terrible driver, who assumes that having the right to access a drive or car park means that you must never have to do any manoeuvring whatsoever to do so - and that you also have the right to sweep in and out at your very finest convenience.

Lots of churches don't have a regular Vicar so chances are it'll be supply/retired Vicars taking services at the moment which would explain no notice of a Vicar's name. Also churches do have letter headed paper which they would always use in official correspondence (certainly from my experience) so I'd be a little suspicious of a plain old bit of A4! Also any official correspondence from the church would sign off as Bob Smith, Church Warden or Bob Smith, Minister etc. I would guess it's someone who goes to the church who is getting in a bit of a paddy about getting in and out of the church car park.
You could always call the council to see if their highways have anything to say about it. Assuming people are not leaving the car park and can't see cars coming towards them I very much doubt the council would have a problem.

Good suggestion by previous poster to reply on the back of the letter, or at least enclose a photocopy of the original letter. I would be finding out who the vicar or diocese chair is and copying them all in. I suspect that the letter is not "official".
Unfortunately have bitter experience of how petty and entitled some parishioners can be regarding parking matters!

Meh. The church is the 13th largest landowner in the UK, they need to stop land hoarding, especially their empty car parks.

Ignore. You bloody live there. And you're legally parked. Churches can be incredibly entitled.

Is it? Looks like a T junction to me

I don't think there's any evidence that it came from the church team at all.

The Church of England is quite tightly run and there is a clear hierachy of 'command'. I would expect, absent a Vicar in post, that any communication from the church to the community would come from a Churchwarden, or certainly from a named member of the PCC. No one of those in any church I have been involved with (quite a few) would ever send an anonymous letter. The Church considers itself part of, and aims to serve, the community. If they wished to make a request of their neighbours, to help their congregation, they would approach politely aiming for discussion, therefore providing an easy way to contact the sender.

I would expect a member of the congregation who felt the need to control parking near the Car Park entrance, to talk to the Church Warden or PCC member and ask them to help. They may say, sorry, not in our control, or they may try a polite request for neighbourly assistance.

I think it's come from a disgruntled neighbour from somewhere around, who may, or may not, have some connection with the church, however slight, and that you can quite safely ignore it.

Is the church car park usually full to capacity? Perhaps a compromise could be reached whereby the 2 residents cars park in the car park - keeping that space free, yet giving you somewhere to park

Turning left out of the car park is probably difficult with cars there - but it's still a legal parking space. If they're expecting you to not park in a perfectly legitimate space, then they should offer to let you park in the car park.

*Sorry - meant turning RIGHT would be difficult

Maybe not everyone parks as considerately as you do, or as you think others do. People probably are blocking their drive and that's why they've sent a letter.