Neighbour complaining about my parking

[nightmareparking]

Diagram attached, it’s shit sorry!

I moved into my flat in October. It’s a block of flats. There is off street parking available, but it’s not allocated to anyone and is on a first come first served basis. Some families have several cars and others, like myself, only have the 1.

Shortly after moving in, I encountered difficulties with parking. I usually finish work later, and by the time I get home, most of the spaces are taken. I began parking on the street adjacent to the flats, but it got damaged in February (likely by a group of kids as other drivers in the village have experienced similar issues). Subsequently, I resumed parking outside the flats again.

Occasionally, I find myself parking on the corner (highlighted) when there are no other spaces available. I understand that reversing past can be challenging for some people, but with careful and slow driving, it is possible. I have done it myself. When I returned home on Sunday, the son of my neighbour approached me and asked if I could avoid parking on the corner because his elderly dad has difficulty reversing past. I apologised and explained that I typically park there because there are often no other spaces available when I get home. I also mentioned that I can no longer park on the street because my car was damaged the last time. He agreed and asked if I could avoid parking there when possible.

I returned home this evening and he approached me again voicing his complaints. I proposed that his dad could park on the corner if that worked better, and I could take his spot (highlighted) at the front. But it seems he wants / needs to park closer to his flat. I’m feeling a bit lost about what to do and he refuses to talk to the other neighbours, even though they have several cars. It feels like I’m being pressured to park on the street. I’m 26 and he’s in his 40s (I know him a little through a friend), which makes me feel a bit intimidated.

Should I just go ahead and park on the street, even if it risks my car getting damaged again? AIBU to park on the corner if there are no other spaces available?

Sounds like the son needs to ask the council to paint yellow lines around the corner. Parking at an angle on a corner ( and it can only be at an angle if it’s ON the corner) block visibility for people turning in and out of the road regardless of their age

The diagram and the description don’t quite match. Are you parking in the turning space that prevents people having to reverse all the way to the road? If so that’s not on.
The landlord / flats committee needs to introduce a one car per flats policy with first come first served visitors spaces if enough.

I think you’re fine. If the man talks to you again. Tell him to leave you alone or you’ll report him for harassment. The fact that he’s picking on you instead of asking others not to be so selfish with limited spaces or by expecting his Dad to be just be careful shows he’s a knob.

I think this thread highlights that there are lots of differing opinions so I'm not sure how you'll even resolve this tbh. I suspect someone will complain soon which will resolve it one way or another

I agree. I was surprised this was about a man in his forties, I first thought it must be an elderly or disabled person who had the difficulty. If the guy is able bodied and knows how to drive it should be no problem and why is his son doing the talking for him? You are doing nothing wrong.

How close to the corner is it? There's a distance that you aren't allowed to park to a corner.
Offhand I thought it was 20m, but that sounds quite a lot.

Can you give us a Google earth shot from above?

I'd just park half on the grass and half on the road.

Regardless of yellow lines you are not supposed to park on a bend / corner, I believe the highway code states there should be a 10m gap. So unfortunately I do think you are in the wrong for parking there based on this.

As others have stated maybe discuss designated parking and permits with the council or company that own the flats to limit 1 vehicle per flat.

If tha is the case they shouldn’t be driving, if you can’t safely get enough visibility then you are a danger and shouldn’t be behind the wheel.

Hi @nightmareparking it isn’t ideal but as you say no prohibitions and you aren’t actually blocking them in so it’s just life, did you say to him that so many inhabitants have multiple vehicles there is insufficient parking? He’s part of the problem so a bit rich putting it on you like this.

Am I the only one who doesn’t understand the diagram?

You are a grown adult, no need to feel intimidated by another grown adult. He sounds like he’s been polite.

That other people have multiple cars is irrelevant.

You, and everyone else, bought a flat with no allocated parking. That means that no one has any say in who parks where, as long as they are parked legally and safely.

Get a trusted friend over to ask if they consider your parking safe. If elderly neighbour’s driving is impaired then maybe he needs to make adjustments to his life to compensate.

Quite. The fact the son spoke for the “elderly father”, is a red flag. If he can’t come and speak to you about it himself and is having problems with his driving where you and your neighbours don’t, it’s a sign he shouldn’t be on the road. If you’re satisfied this is the case and no one else has a problem, ignore him and hope he doesn’t cause you an accident when he can’t turn his neck properly, etc.

It looks OK to me. But if people are struggling to get round it it could get damaged so not necessarily a solution to the street parking.

That’s what I’m seeing too, everyone else seems to be seeing something different?

From your diagram OP, it looks like all cars, including yours are parked off the road in bays or whatnot (whether or not they’re marked). It is just that yours is at an angle instead of straight, and perhaps not in a bay.

But the picture looks like you mean you park lengthways along the curb, at the corner, while others presumably have bays?

Which is it? Because the latter does have the potential to be a right pain in the arse for everyone else, and not a legitimate place to park.

If you can’t park in a space off the actual road way, you can’t just park on a corner. It is highly unlikely your car who’ll be damaged every time you park on the road, there must be other cars parked there too?

Would it make it easier for them if you parked along the curb rather than end on to it?

From the picture and the diagram it does look OK to me - I'm presuming it's not 'road' but one of those little side-parking areas, so I don't think the not parking on a corner applies

If you can't see to reverse by turning your head, then reversing on mirrors is fine - after all, that's what vans have to do. If you can't reverse at all, then that's definitely a 'you' (as in the person who can't reverse, not OP) problem though.

our street has a flatbed truck parked in the corner for weeks now. Council and police have been out to various complaints as it limits visibility both ways and they just tell him he is causing an obstruction but don’t get him to move.

Can’t he turn from his spot rather than reversing down? He could use the grass if necessary?

People can become so precious and entitled regarding communal parking spaces, particularly when there is no official allocation in a property lease/rental agreement. I cannot see a problem with your parking tbh but as the diagram isn't to scale it isn't easy to see really (no judgment on your drawing OP)
What amazes me is the fact that so many driver just can't reverse into a parking space!!! Isn't that actually part of the driving test? Anyone reversing into a space would have much less problem driving out of it and this is far safer if doing so into a road.

I'm seeing this too! I thought it was illegal to park close to a corner and I can see if OP is parked horizontally in the spot indicated with a red line in the photo, that makes the turn really tight for anyone wanting to get past. I'm surprised OP's car hasn't been clipped.

The solution is surely to complain to the management company of the flats and ask that spaces are designated by number, one per flat.

I don't see how the diagram and photo match up at all.
Photo doesn't look like you can park there, but based on your photo I don't see where the others are parking either, it looks too narrow. The diagram looks completely different and I can't tell if you can park there or not.

OP can you take a screenshot of the parking bay on Google Maps? Struggling to see how the photo and diagram align?

I am in agreement that it looks like you are parking too close to a corner. You don't want to park on the road because of risk of damage but it doesn't sound like parking on a bend is the best choice either. You yourself have said people have to slow down and if they take care then it is passable....making it sound like it isn't straightforward. Delivery drivers round here drive like crazy so I am surprised you haven't been hit parking there.

Would an ambulance be able to get close to the building you live in without being hindered by your car?

I feel like I’m seeing a totally different photo to everyone else.

There might not be any lines there but I can totally see how your car being left there causes issues for people trying to reverse out and around. It limits visibility and means they can’t fully manoeuvre very easily.

Just because it’s legal doesn’t mean it’s something you should be doing. I’d personally be worried about my car getting hit if I left it somewhere like that.