It's a parking one..

[JoelyJoe]

Near where I live is a residential street with a small rank of shops.
Opposite the shops is a long parking bay (enough for about 8 cars), and some houses, set back from the road. I'm pretty sure the bay exists to service the shops.
One of the houses has created a drive / parking space for their car, in front of their house. The car faces towards the pavement and parking bay, and they have to cross both to access the road. They have put up a load of (unofficial) no parking signs, and have effectively dropped the kerb themselves by putting some plastic wedges across.
Inevitably they keep getting blocked in because they are trying to prevent people from parking in the bay in front of their car, but it's a public parking bay! I'm sure they have no right to annex it to access their space.
When people park in front, the house/car owners get very abusive, shouting at drivers to move and threatening to clamp them. Surely they can't. They don't own the bay, and shouldn't be parking behind a kerb that hasn't been officially blocked anyway.
I've been tempted to risk parking in front of them myself, when it's the only bay available. But I'm worried they would key my car!
Who is being unreasonable?
YABU - these people gave a right to park near their home.
YANBU - you can't just annex part of a public parking bay as unofficial access to where you want to put your car

I've done my best with a diagram. No judgement please!! 🤣🤣

They won’t get council approval, so I would report

This ^

Just report it to your local council or the police if they get aggressive with you.

They have no right to try to monopolise that space for their own parking access, and no right to drive over a pavement that doesn't have a dropped curb.

Only 5/10 for the diagram, you said room for 8 cars ! Otherwise a good diagram 😊
As others have said, report to Council. They charge huge amounts for permission and dropped kerbs and this resident is unlikely to get permission.

Don't you just love people who are so entitled that they put up a sign and assume that that makes it the law for everybody to follow?! Not even a 'polite notice' that they in no way hope that people will misread as 'police notice', asking people to be 'considerate', but just outright (homemade) 'No Parking' signs!

I'm surprised they haven't 'acquired' some traffic cones to put out as well.

Very clearly the kind of people who were never properly taught that "I want!" doesn't get, as little children.

Loving the aggressive home owner at the window!
So, are they parking on their grassy garden, or a patch of public owned grass?
Whatever it is, they’re cheeky fuckers!
Why would people visiting the shops think that they can’t park there in a bay? Batshit homeowner needs someone reporting them 😉

11/10 for the diagram OP. It may not be to scale but it captures the range of emotions provoked by a parking war. Well done.

Yeah, go on, I was being mean with my 5/10 😊😍

I love the car on the right which looks like a stretch limo. 😂

I am just here to congratulate you on a fab diagram!

The homeowner must be in a constant state of panic/anger over his determination to protect his self-appointed right-of-way. I'd definitely report him before he has a heart attack and costs the NHS a lot of money. You'd be performing a public service, ultimately 😁

Am I the only one who doesn’t understand what the “plastic wedges” are?

Probably.

They are bits of plastic in a wedge shape that you place in the road next to the curb.

They act as a ramp to help you drive up the curb if the curb has not been dropped.

Search "curb wedges" on Amazon.

I’m sure the shops are probably reporting it as it’ll be driving everyone mad!

'Near where I live is a residential street with a small rank of shops.'

'It affects me when I want to use those shops and there is nowhere to park.'

Walk to the shops!

Or just park there and point out the law if they don't like it

Report it to the council. Ask the shop owners to do the same. I wouldn’t risk my car though

I would report to the highways dept too. What if the other houses all follow and do the same? There would be nowhere for shoppers to park.
Do they have allocated parking anywhere else or at the back of the houses? Must be a blooming nightmare to live there though.
Also fab drawing!

Great diagram OP!

I agree with PPs - definitely report. And then come back and update us all obviously as I’d like to know how long it takes for those plastic things and the signs to disappear 😁

I strongly suspect they wouldn't get permission for that parking space, so they're trying to do it without informing the council.

I was just wondering how the house owners get their cars onto the road? Do they all have to park on the main road itself? I guess they must.

I am a teacher and 4 doors up from the school there is a house which opens directly onto pavement. Every day, twice a day, people obviously park along this road to drop off and collect their teenagers. The house in question has no parking signs on the front of it and the very irate owner comes out and shouts at people regularly. They also complain to the school. The school has been there far longer than the house...

Near us someone decided to do an illegal
drive. The council have put concrete bollards up on
the path to stop them using it. Could happen here….

I’m on my own then, feeling sympathy for the resident? All those drivers who want to park right outside the shops rather than park down the road and walk a little bit no matter how much it inconveniences the residents.

But they (presumably) bought or rented the house opposite the shops, knowing that parking would likely be a problem? And anyway, it is irrelevant as they still can't randomly claim a section of kerb on the other side of the public footpath to their front garden as their own?

It is likely to inconvenience far more residents if they park away from the designated parking for the shops.