The driveway drama continues. Neighbours are still driving me insane. What should I do now?

[9champions]

I’m not sure if anyone remembers my last thread, but to save me from explaining the background, I’ll link it here - https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5482826-neighbour-using-my-drive-landlord-wont-help-what-can-i-do?utm_campaign=thread&utm_medium=app_share

I’m not really looking for opinions on that since we’ve already discussed it. However, I’d like to hear your thoughts on what’s happened since then and what I should do next.

After chatting with the neighbour and her outright refusing to stop, I decided to put up my own fence for some privacy and to stop her from using my driveway. I considered putting down planters, boulders, etc. (which I’ll get to in a minute), but I figured a fence would be a better option since it’s sturdier. It’s not ideal because my driveway is pretty narrow, and the extra cost is frustrating, but their fence is right on the boundary line anyway, so hopefully, it won’t make a big difference, and I’ll still have enough space to get in and out of my car.

I’ve been trying to get someone to come over and give me a quote for the last few weeks, but I’ve been let down a couple of times. Finally, someone is coming this week to have a look. Now, about the planters. I’ve been parking my car there as usual, but somehow she’s still managed to squeeze past. I wanted to put something there while I was away this weekend until the fence was up, so I placed 2 long thin planters there (on my land, not hers). I got home yesterday, and there was a knock on the door. It was her saying she ran over the planters and broke them, offering to pay for a new one, etc. I said no (they were £2.50, so I’m not going to bother asking for that), but isn’t this just ridiculous? The planters were on my drive, so the only reason she hit them was because she drove over my property. She tried to claim she clipped them with her back wheel, but that wouldn’t have happened if she wasn’t cutting across the drive in the first place. It was honestly like something out of a comedy sketch.

I’d be more sympathetic if this was their only choice, but it’s not. They could:

Take down their fence so he can park the van there instead and put the car on the street to create more space.

Talk to the landlord again about the fence.

Talk to their neighbours and ask them to leave more room on the road for the van.

Move the van when she needs to go out or come back home.

They’re opting for the easiest, most convenient solution, even if it means damaging someone else's property. It just reaches a point where it becomes bone idle.

So what should I do now? Continue with the fence and hope she doesn’t crash into it or damage it? I can let the planter go, but not a fence. I’ve already asked her nicely, and she made excuses. I’ve put obstacles in her way, and she’s just driven over them. So what else can I do? Should I really have to go through all this trouble to stop someone from using my property?

What’s even more confusing is that she says she can’t get out of her car on the side of the fence because there isn’t enough space, so she has to pull onto the driveway instead of reversing and driving off in a straight line. But her partner was in the passenger seat yesterday and got out on that side just fine, so there’s clearly enough room. I think she’s just a bad / lazy driver and doesn’t want to reverse on.

Before anyone says it’s not causing any damage, I don’t care. It’s my property, and I don’t want them using it. If it was now and again, that would be different, but not every day, multiple times a day. They've been dicks and unhelpful in the past, so no, I don't feel like helping them out either.

Landlord here OP and the owner of a house with regular parking spats at the back of it.

Our rented house has an utter dick of a NDN (not suggesting you’re the dick here) and we wherever possible pacify her to stop her being unreasonable towards our tenants who are lovely.

Similarly the house at the back of ours last year had 5 cats regularly parked outside, often opposite our drive on a tight bend on both sides of the road.

i spoke to their letting agent, provided some pics and they sorted it in a few days, just like we do when our ex neighbour decides she’s bored enough to squabble over the position of a wheely bin in a shared access yard.

Can you track down the landlord? I find Right move is helpful for historical info on who let it if it was an agency

A penguin bollard?

So if the neighbour was to stop cutting across your drive and parked on the road infront of the car that's slightly blocking hers . Would she then over lap your drive and stop you from parking on your drive?

Get one of those rocks with the gnomes that sit on top of it so if she rolls over that she’s gonna do some damage to her car!

Am I right thinking the entire problem is their complete lack of driving skills?

My suggestion is - lose your rag with them. Properly. Shout at them. Tell them that their ineptitude is not your problem ...unless they want to pay you towards maintenance and upkeep of your driveway.

This is ridiculous. It's your driveway. They should not be driving over it without permission.

clearly, they see you as a pushover or they would ask the other neighbours to park differently.

@Dollyparton3 "Similarly the house at the back of ours last year had 5 cats regularly parked outside"

that's different. I would be pleased if I went outside and there were five cats.

You could do what I did perhaps. Tall planters (3ft tall, round or square, your choice) places them at intervals along your driveway and staple/nail/glue plastic expanding trellis between them, creating a fence that's both cheap and easy to replace. I have some climbers growing in pots on my trellis but it would be optional. Mine in total is about 20cm wide, and has stopped my arrogant neighbours visitors from literally blocking access to my front door ( yes, I actually had to walk across their bonnet one evening when they refused to move it). The joy of neighbours!

Don’t bother with a fence just sink a post at the end where the boundary is. You can both open your doors but the car has to stay on its own side. You could very easily do it yourself. Buy a good solid post (cheapest from a lumber merchant) and a bag of quick set cement.

Get a couple of skinny planters that you can drill a hole or two in the bottom of.

Bit of rebar cut down (seller on ebay does it in the length you want, with bends wherever you want, not expensive at all).

Dig a skinny hole to take each rebar length so that most of it is in the whole and a few inches into the planter (ideally it would have an L shape at the top and bottom) - fill hole up with postcrete, slot planters over rebar ends, blob of postcrete over the top and then fill 'er up with soil and plant away.

Then she can't move them and if she is stupid enough to hit them, more fool her!

I had to do this for two planters outside my front door to stop filthy thieving skets from nicking them (so then they nicked just the plants. Second time round they got their hands covered in the dogshit I buried in the pots and that fixed it).

Do warn her not to hit them as they are fixed, so then she hasn't a leg to stand on if she drives over them and rips her car to bits.

Would these be any good? From B&Q.
I read a thread a few years ago about exactly the same thing.The poster bought these panels,screwed each one (horizontally) onto a wooden fence post then got a handyman to bolt the sections onto the drive. Took up hardly width as her driveway was narrow too.
I could have written your original post myself,we paid to have the edge of our driveway repaired twice - his drive is a full kerb higher in height than ours and he was bumping up and down onto ours 2/3 times a day - had enough and put a fence up.
Cue much yelling and windmilling of arms(from him not me!) and he's not spoken to us since!

Haha! So would I

No, she wouldn’t because their van is larger, which is why it overhangs their driveway. They could switch the vehicles around, putting the van on the drive and the car on the street, allowing enough room for the van to come and go without encroaching onto my property. They won’t do this because of their fence. He claims he can’t get out of the van because of it. The fence belongs to them (or rather, the landlord), so they could pay someone to remove it. The landlord has given them permission to take it down but won’t pay towards it, obviously he doesn’t see it as an issue because he doesn’t have to live with it. So, essentially, they expect me to cover the costs, or else they’ll keep using my drive. They’re both dicks (landlord included). They could have offered to pay 50/50, but no, they want me to pay to remove THEIR fence, otherwise they will keep using my drive.

They could also talk to their neighbours and ask them to leave a bit more room on the street so they can park the van without it overhanging their drive. They could even move the van when they need to get the car on and off the drive. In short, they have multiple options but are opting to use my property because it’s the easiest and most convenient choice.

WHen she broke your planter, did you ask her again to stop driving over your drive? I know that you did in the first instance, and she said it was hard for her not to - is that still where things are at? When is the last time you said to her, I really don't want you driving across my drive. You need to reverse onto your drive, or back off in a straight line.

Sounds like you need a police stringer thing or a line of spikes drilled down or as suggested heavy concrete planters. It will have to be something that would cause her car damage to go into.

What is the layout of the neighbours across the road from your driveway, as in do they have a driveway opposite yours in use?

As much as its a pain could you occasionally park on the road over your own driveway then your neighbour will have to either move the van to get out or stay put.
They can hardly accuse you of blocking them in when its not you doing so.

You should have rounded up to £20, to include whatever compost and plants inside and the time to pot up and potentially replace. A not so insignificant amount might make her think on.

So have you not asked her to stop driving over your drive? I think a conversation would be much better than putting up a fence, which I can only imagine will look odd, or investing in cameras! Ut's hardly an issue for crimestoppers...

Couldn't disagree more

RTFT (at least OPs comments on first thread)!

Yes, I brought it up with her when I first saw her doing it, before the planters / fence idea. She came up with a load of excuses about the neighbours next door and their parking situation. She also talked about the fence and how difficult it is to park the van in the driveway with it there, and then just carried on as normal

What you are looking for is concrete troughs e.g. https://getpotted.com/product/contemporary_light_concrete_high_trough_planter_by_idealist_lite/?SKU=71830&utm_campaign=22763270124&utm_source=x&utm_medium=cpc&utm_content=&utm_term=&seg_aprod=71830&ad_id=&tw_source=google&tw_adid=&tw_campaign=22763270124&tw_kwdid=&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22763273256&gbraid=0AAAAADQKmdNFIIQL9cnv-UXGbGQ9Yt837&gclid=CjwKCAiAncvMBhBEEiwA9GU_fsxR3pbYYaZSmHM2DikUl9ePpaFWPaAutuXd-ryoVgolcaABlEmzCBoCAaoQAvD_BwE

Fill then up with soil and plant, preferably with something spiky. Perhaps now is the time to indulge your love of gooseberries which are so difficult to buy these days.

Apart from the driveway wear-and-tear and trespassing issues, the OP has said that the CF neighbour narrowly avoids hitting her car sometimes. Stopping her potentially damaging your car is a very good reason to sort this problem.

Could you put up a fence on your property and widen your drive? Tell your neighbour, the owner, that you are putting a fence up. Dont do this if you don’t have exclusive control of your property. By that I mean, are they entitled to use it? I’m assuming not. I’d look after your interest and if their vehicle is too big, so be it. Not your issue. You should secure your own property and your one entrance and exit. If it’s going to cost money, so be it.

Send her a cease and desist letter and say she has damaged the drive (tell them a quote for a full resurface), emphasise they have damaged both the drive and broken planters and they must stop.

if you haven’t already put cctv up do so.

Agree. Can’t say I’d be best pleased by neighbours damaging my property by driving over my drive. Planters, bollards, fences and many many cameras pointing at them. Good luck OP and your neighbour is a knob. 🍀