Neighbours walking past our front door to leave the house

[Bluesea14]

our new neighbours keep walking past our front door and squeezing past our cars when they go out. We have checked our deeds and title and this is part of our property, not a public footpath. We would never dream of walking past their house when we go out so we can't understand why they think it's acceptable to do it. They recently had furniture delivered and this was also carried down the path past our front door instead of going in between their cars.
I have attached a image which is similar to the layout of our house and the blue line is where they keep walking. Any advice on how to deal with this please? We haven't properly met them yet so we don't want to come across confrontational but we also want to make it clear that we don't want people regularly walking on our property and setting our ring doorbell off.

I would consider the parking to be akin to a private driveway and the path to be a garden path rather than a public footpath.

i live in a similar setup - but the houses are more spaced and the driveways run up the side of the houses breaking the path and we all have grass front lawns. In theory you could walk all the way along the front of everyone’s houses by the living room windows. But I have never seen anyone do it. It would be very odd.

How is this helpful? Comments like yours are so pointless

I go think there's a difference between a postman or delivery person taking the shortest route between properties and a neighbour doing it. I wouldn't mind the delivery person because I know they are rushed and don't necessarily know whose path it is. The neighbour has their own path and should know. Also - it's a good idea not to annoy your neighbour and to show respect for them.

I’d be really annoyed, I can’t believe the YANBU vote 🙄😳

@Bluesea14 what are the colours used on the plan of your house in your deeds, specifically the pathway that leads from the road up to your path (which you share with the neighbour to your left in the picture you provided) and then the bit of path that runs directly left to right in front of your house?

There may be 2 diagrams in your deeds, one showing the property outline all in one colour and another showing property outline plus rights of way over certain parts of your property in a different colour.

What happened to the days when new neighbours were warmly welcomed to the street?
Please say hello and then just explain your ring bell is being set off. They probably haven’t even thought about it and will be mortified. Maybe your path is slightly wider and looks like the more obvious route. Please don’t just put a plant pot there, it will come across as a very unfriendly gesture if you haven’t even said hello.

Stick a big plant pot between your front doors to block access, casually say oh you keep setting our ring door bell off when you walk past so can you use your path and if they fail then start using their path constantly.

I wouldn’t like this either op - I think you should speak to them even if it’s awkward and also some trees in pots to block access

My front path is concrete and has no signs on it 🙄but my neighbours would never use it. It’s clear it’s my path, and they have their paths

🤣🤣have you just moved into your first home?? You’re in a semi detached house and you expecting not to see or hear your adjoining neighbours? Think you may be in for a shock in the summer when people, heaven forbid, use their gardens and make noise!!!!

@cocoromo Trees? How big do you think this path is, especially the area between the 2 doors

I'm only on P7 and still reading but no one has stated the obvious regarding why they're doing it - which is that they're obviously heading that way so because there's no barrier, human nature us bringing then through OP's open drive. I wouldn't do it myself and it would probably bother me one time out of 100.
We did have an open drive before but there was a step up so that separated it. They would sometimes step across ours tho on their way out as again that was the way out of the road. I only registered that now but it wasn't as obvious as what's happening you. Just have a chat to them. A letter is crazy.

She hasn’t said she didn’t expect to see or hear them, just that she doesn’t want them using her front path as a thoroughfare. How do you live that you think it’s reasonable for people to constantly take a short cut across their neighbour’s private property within inches of their front window?

Not sure I agree with the friendly cup of tea approach, it might make it harder to say something. You can make friends after this is sorted.

I would put out a few plant pots, and/or drive your car right up to your window or leave a large cardboard box out for a day (a return item, to be picked up by a courier).

If cluttering the path is against the rules of the estate, and if they complain about these then that’s great - this would be the perfect opportunity for you agree to remove the items and also to remind them of the fact that they can’t walk on your land either, by the way.

Where has this come from? The OP hasn't said anything of the sort...she just wants them to stop using her path and walking in front of her window, which is understandable. She hasn't mentioned noise, gardens or expectations of solitude or silence.

You made that up and posted as though you had it nailed.
Bloody wish people would stop doing that on here. It's annoying.

You know who's really responsible for issues like this (and I'm sure there are many)? The bastard moneygrabbing developers, squashing too many houses into estates, skimping on actual pavements, paths, prohibiting owners from enclosing their own properties. That's who. Without boundaries some people will do whatever is most convenient for them, and disregard others' spaces. I rented on a new estate and would never live on one again. It's sad really that they are allowed to build like this, as it's not how people should have to live. We need clearly marked boundaries and to have some respect for others.

I voted YANBU in agreement with the OP, perhaps that was the wrong way round 🧐

Same.
But the result was 34% YABU AND 66% YANBU 😳

Putting a nice plant by your front door is a perfectly normal thing to do though, you shouldn’t need to get permission from the neighbour.

If I were in the position of annoying a neighbour inadvertently I’d personally prefer to be confronted with it indirectly (by the plant) rather than in an excruciating conversation. We are all different.

They might step over normal planters. I'd be tempted to get a trellis planter and a climbing plant and use that as a divider.

It seems an age since anyone posted the link to the Argos trellis planter😁

I’m embarrassed for you.

Me too! As in OP is not being unreasonable to be annoyed by it.

Agree, much better to deal honestly and quickly now, rather than building up a head of steam/ going all pass-agg which will certainly boil over some time in the future