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.

This - otherwise it seems odd the path goes to their front door but they can’t use it

They walk right past her window. The houses are set back from the road and public pavement so the OP has an expectation of privacy.

It would bother me that they're walking right past your window. I might put a big plant pot next to the front door - or just ask them not to walk across the front of your house.

I assume half of "your" path is actually the house to your left as you're looking at the photo. So that path is twice as wide as the neighbours which is only for one house. That does likely make the double path look like a public path. Plus, if theirs is only wide enough for a bin, that's pretty narrow and not pleasant to walk down, would definitely be a struggle with shopping or large parcels. None of your is your fault or means you have to give them any grace in using your path, but Ican see how they think that they're using public paths.

It's a big deal because each house has its own path to its own front door that prevents anyone from needing to have their neighbour walk brushing shoulders with their lounge window.

It's a standard design for the "affordable housing" on new build estates and the unwritten rule is you don't pass right by people's windows if you can avoid. it.

It's a privacy thing in high density housing.

As I've said I have checked our deeds and it is ours.

I'm just trying to get this. (Sorry @Bluesea14 ) So, is your house the house on the left (of the 2 semis joined together) and theirs is on the right, and they are coming down where the blue arrow is going, walking in front of your window, and accessing their house that way?

I think I used to live on this exact estate - is it greater Manchester? If not, I lived in a house by the same builders so exactly the same layout and had the same issue. I parked the car as possible and put out plant pots but there was a set of neighbours that never stopped.

I am on the side of pettiness . Look where you live . It's not some sort of exclusive gravel path and they are spoiling your grand view. How many times a day does it happen that affects you . Unless you work from home in the front room and even then not their problem. I imagine the fence there makes it narrower for them .
You will be very discontented in life if this type of thing bothers you so much .

To be honest it would annoy me. Someone constantly walking that close to my living room window?

we are all different - but I chose not to live in a house where the front door opens onto a footpath. Houses that do open up to a footpath cost less because many people see that as a loss of privacy.

I would put out planters to mark the boundary

I would plan on a fence. Or at the very least long and highish planters along the whole boundary, with YOUR car planted too close for them to squeeze through. But until then I would inch my car so far forward there isn't squeezing space for them. Maybe put a rubber brick or something on the wall so you can feel it touch as you gradually inch up.

Yes, formal and possibly declarable on eventual sale of the house.

That doesn't automatically mean they don't have the right to use it though.

It really doesn’t. A lot of modern builds are like this now. The away up is however lie a traditional garden on the deeds. There just aren’t any walls.

check to see if you can put up railings between the front doors.

I would explain you are getting more traffic passed your front windows than you would like. Blame delivery drivers and say you would like their visitors to use their path

It looks like the path you have is wider & so it suggests that it’s the main path. I can see why they would use it.

Why does everyone have a ring doorbell? The Stasi would love you all - 24/7 surveillance even coming out of your front door. I find it unsettling how everyone is tracked all the time.

so there is no pavement on the street but something that looks like one by the houses? of course people would rather walk there than walking in the street!

can you go to the developer/council to ask to add an obvious one by the street.

the only thing you can do is adding plants. maybe even take out a row of the paving left and right to do so.

tbh thst set up looks so depressing, just tarmac, no plants.

I too would be annoyed at what is happening. I don’t understand why people here think you’re being unreasonable.

You’ve checked your deeds and established that the pathway is yours. I’d buy an oblong planter and position it so that it blocks their way through. If they enquire about it you can explain the situation… it triggers the ring doorbell.

I live in an area with lots of new builds including ones that design and some people have planters between the doors presumably to stop people doing this. You could get a long planter with a trellis.

What a sad society we live in. Is this what a "successful" life looks like. 😔

You wouldn't mind people walking right past your window next to your house when they don't need to? You're unusual. Most people would find this annoying, it's really weird.

OP don't write them a letter, knock on the door and ask them nicely not to do it. Make up a pet who gets upset when they do or something like that.

You need to check theirs too, we have a similar set up and the attached person has rights to walk over it but it does belong to us. Likewise we share access to rear garages although it runs up the side of my house they have to driv over my part to get to theirs. I'm very much of the liv3 and let live school tho.

Did you not read what id written??? I said " why is it a big deal to SPEAK to your neighbours these days? "

What on earth has that got to do with pathways access etc

I wouldn't talk to them yet, as others have said put a couple of plant tubs there so they have step over them. If they don't take the hint then I'd just politely ask them to use their own path for access.

How annoying OP. Some people simply do not possess common courtesy. I would speak to them in the first instance and focus on the privacy angle vs property ownership. You might embarrass them into complying but be prepared for them not to take it well. Also a planter if you think that would block their path.

Thanks for everyone's suggestions, just to clarify the deeds show the space is ours and not our neighbours. They have a path to the left the same as we do. This is at least the width of their bins so more than wide enough for them to walk down. There is no overgrown bush on their side and they have small cars.They also have space between their cars so really no reason to walk past our living room and use our path. Our cars are parked far back almost into our bush (not pictured) so we have not made it an inviting footpath for them to walk down. We do not hate them as some have suggested. I just wanted some advice on the best way to speak to them as it is a first for me.