PARKING WAR - from Day 1 of moving into new house!

[BreezyBertha]

Diagram attached!

So, moved into new house on Thursday. Our house is one of two houses at the bottom of a cul de sac. We own half the access road to our drive, house next to us owns the other half. Turning into our drive is tight as we have to go round a bend and need to pull out onto neighbours side and also reverse onto it as there are concrete bollards bordering it.

Neighbouring house has been empty for a while I believe and and sold last month so will be empty for a few more probably. Our house was empty for a while before we moved in.

Neighbours who live in the house at the end of the road just before our private road starts. have obviously taken to parking on our access road as both houses have been empty. They have two cars but one car drive. There is very little parking on the public road in front of their house and they have concrete bollards cordoning off their front garden so can’t pull into there. There is parking further up a few minutes walk away.

Anyhow, DH drove the removal van up on Thursday to find their car parked on our private road, blocking him from getting onto it. He asked them to move and politely asked them not to park there. They moved the car after a bit of ‘um we’ve been parking here for a while now, houses were empty so it’s ok’.

Well they’re not empty now! I mean WTF??

The wife then came out while we were unpacking and seemed friendly so we introduced ourselves etc. She then said she parks in our bit of road from 9pm when she finishes work so it’s ok! Also that she has family nearby who come to visit and they need to park. We said they can’t block our road so please don’t park there

Later in the same evening, they parked there again and I couldn’t get out, so DH knocked and said you need to move your car. Husband was not happy but moved it off our bit of road further back opposite his house where the public road starts. It is very tight but we can just about squeeze through.

Today they had the family they mentioned over. One car parked in empty neighbouring house’s drive, another on the private access road. DH couldn’t get into the drive so sat beeping his horn.

About 5 or 6 men came out, one the neighbours father and the others his brothers/BILs, telling us we have room and they don’t need to move! They were also saying they don’t live here so it’s fine to park on our road if visiting! Things got a bit shouty as we said they had no right to park there and should not be on the private access road at all. In the end they conceded that they needed to move from the access road but left the car in the empty neighbours drive! I did say what are you going to do when buyers move in!

They seem to think that as they’ve been parking there for a while, it is now their parking area!

They only moved in in February so have not been here long themselves and just took advantage of the fact ours and neighbouring house were empty.

I just can’t get over the entitlement. They have no business even coming off the public road and over the dropped kerb into our access road. It’s trespass!

Obviously I don’t want an expensive legal battle. Can’t put bollards up as new neighbours would need to agree and they have not moved in yet.

I can tell this is going to carry on though so what can we do? We actually bought this house for the big 3 car drive and had no idea we’d have issues with neighbours who shouldn’t even be entering our bit of road. Getting really stressed about it as just want to live in peace!

Title deed attached with my diagram added. . Our house is bordered in red, empty neighbouring house in blue and CFs house in green.

I suspect you simply need to explain that access is literally a matter of life and death for your child. Unless they are monsters that should be all the incentive they need.

Wait for the new neighbours to move in.

Then see what transpires with CF neighbours.

If it carries on get a solicitor’s letter with copy of your deed/diagram above.

New neighbour hopefully will agree to pay half if they are also affected.

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/dimensional_requirements_for_acc

Can you lay the law down fire access wide?

They are impeding your right of way to access your property. I would mention the need for an ambulance to be able to access, turn round and open up. If you can bear it take round a bottle of wine and say it is absolutely necessary we have access at all times. Say it is stressful because from experience we know that time is of the essence. We have a defined need.

If they do not then you can explain to a solicitor about impeding access for disability as well. And that they are aware.

If I was the new neighbour I would join forces in speaking to CFs and asking them to move every time.

I would refuse a lockable bollard until every communication, including a solicitor's letter explaining that it is private property and they are trespassing, before I would want to be getting out and unlocking a bollard every time I went in and out, locking it up again, in rain and wind, dark etc. Making sure it is left down for the bin lorry etc.

And it only takes one vehicle to go over them while they are lying down and they are wrecked (the ones in our work car park lasted a week).

Get a gate - manual or electric and keep it locked.

Two private driveways that lead to houses which could catch fire and need a fire engine to attend 🤦

The access road leads to the driveways but from OP’s diagram the houses would be accessible to emergency services from the road.

Agree with this. OP had already discussed it with them and the CF’s continued to explain their parking and visitors parking plans coming up!! They are not people who you send a polite letter to!

Defo speak to the new neighbours as soon as you can to make them aware, and yes, I’d say the CF’s are going to need to be ‘retrained’ with physical obstructions!!

Good luck! Don’t let it spoil the rest of the joy of your new home.

Our house is about 40ft from the public road as you come up round the bend on the access road, and into the drive and to the front door. Not so much of an issue for an ambulance with a stretcher but no way a fire engine could get round if CFers were parked there. Not sure if fire hoses reach that long?

Anyho CFers have not parked on private road since argy bargy the other day!

They are parking on the public road directly at the start to our bit of private road on the opposite side to their house, almost in the hedge there (!), no pavement on that side. Still makes it tight getting in and out, as road is only 1.5 car width. No way a fire engine would get through either. They are still coming onto the private bit to turn around as well.

I have become a blind twitcher and I bloody hate it!!!

I have been told by an ex fireman that if appliance access is needed then preventing damge to obstructing cars will be very much a secondary consideration. He was invalided out because of smoke inhalation so used to do our fire safety training in the NHS.

How annoying Op but glad they’ve at least stopped parking on your part.

Few big rocks/plant pots should do the trick!

Probably best to get a gate to block off the private road entirely which you and when they move in the new neighbours can access with a key but no one else can.

Don't understand all the bollard/gate people given the problem in your case, OP.
I think you probably need to talk to them again about access for emergency vehicles and keep on until they get their mass of family to park in a more thoughtful place/car share.

You haven’t met my neighbours… it’s a 20 second walk and they refuse to do that and say I’m being ridiculous expecting not to be blocked in
They want me to ring the doorbell and ask them to move instead and “we will happily move for me”
when I said how about not blocking me in they said (and I quote) “ever?! That’s ridiculous!”

Could you contact your local fire station with your concerns? They might come out and have some words of advice for your neighbour.

The awful Jeremy Vine just had footage from possibly Australia. They had a sprinkler set up that went off whenever someone parked in front of access gates. Maybe that would work but really you shouldn't have to pay for deterrent devices/objects if others weren't utter wankers.

That's beyond a joke! In an emergency you haven't got time to be getting them out of their house to move a car. My partner and I don't have neighbours that block us in thank god and truly hope we never do because knocking on a door to get cars moved isn't an option as when he's on call he might have to go into his hospital an ungodly hour to fix a server issue and banging on a door at silly am isn't sensible for anyone involved - i just can't believe there are people that think it's acceptable to do that!

It is. 17 years of it so far but there is nothing else I can do apart from ring the police every time who ring them and tell them to move

The joys of private road cul de sac! We had a neighbour at the end who used to park on and over drive of the house that was empty next door to them. But! Continued to do it even after they moved in, total CF. The Police had to be called because he was aggressive in his entitlement. Was so much nicer when they moved out.

@BreezyBertha a week in your new house! How has the parking been?

All is well at the moment @Elboob! They are parking at very end of our bit of road right opposite their house, making it a bit of a tight squeeze through but not too bothered about that.

Thank you for asking x

We have very little parking on our road as it's the main road into the village. A family that live 4 houses away have 4 cars/vans, there are only 2 people living there and they have taken to parking all 4 with large gaps so no one else can park. I have been ill so DP likes to park as close to our house as my mobility is bad. One day he was bringing me back from hospital and the wife of the house was unloading shopping and DP thought she hadn't heard/seen us parking so he gave her a little peep so she didn't step back and get hit. She started shouting at him saying she had his much right to park there as he did. He ignored her and started getting me out the car and Into the house. About 30 mins he got a message from a friend saying she had posted us onto crap parking and that he had trapped her by parking that close to her with a photo of her with her trapped between her car and ours. And also saying we think we own the street for parking and no one else is allowed to park in the street. People were siding with her calling us all the names under the sun. I posted explaining what had happened and that she had clearly moved her can and got her husband to take the photo cause if we had trapped her like she said she would have got her boot door down as our car would have stopped her boot door from coming down it was that close. I also said that they have 4 cars for 2 people and park terribly so no one else can park and that they have previous for parking badly as the house next door to them has been empty for around a year and they were using the drive and parking over the drive aswell. After I posted that there was people telling her she was the crap parker and then a friend of our posted that I was very poorly and he had just brought me back from yet another hospital admission and he was just letting her know he was there as it looked like she hadn't heard or seen us. The post was quickly deleted after that and a post was put up from the moderator of the page saying the page was for bad parking not retaliation.

They still park horrendously but we just ignore them as best we can.

@BreezyBertha oh good. As long as you can get to your house, that's good.

Order loads of deliveries … vans and box trucks are really helpful for scrapes and dings on badly parked cars.