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.

Don't be daft.
If anyone buys a terraced house that has right of way across it, they know that in the first place.

Most terraced houses have a path to their front door anyway and don't need to cross their neighbour's frontage except perhaps if they share an alley to the rear garden,

These are 2 semis.
You don't walk across land your neighbour owns.

Hardly. They're CFers .

I’m referring to the millions of terraces where the pavement runs directly under the window.

I really can’t imagine giving a single shit that my neighbour has dared to walk past my window 🤣

I wish I had your problems OP, and you really need to balance how much this annoys you, and how important it is to be on at least pleasant terms with the people in the house attached to yours.

In saying that, I think the best way to approach this is the ring doorbell route. Speak to them in person, explain that they are setting your doorbell off and asking them if they could please walk the other way to avoid it. I think if you start talking about deeds etc you may pee them off and they won't be receptive to what you are saying. You catch more flies with honey as they say.

You didn't say that.

I assume you mean terraces with no front garden where the front door opens onto a street?

That's a bit different.

And buying one is a CHOICE.
What you can accept is neither here nor there.

They may not want to squeeze down the small gap at the other side , if they have a pushchair in the future would it even fit ? I think the issue with new builds is they cram them in , not sure what you can do tbh .

Stop being PA and trying to make OP feel guilty.

Evidently, before we moved into our house, previous owners had a problem with the postman and delivery drivers using their /our garden as a short cut. Walking across the lawn.
We're detached. Remedy was a 3ft high fence.

The footpath on their side- far left- is the same size as the OP's.
If they have a pushchair and can't get out, they ought to have thought of that before OR they can push it over their driveway (and move a car if necessary.)

Why is everyone suggesting OP is in the wrong?

I think the design and layout of your houses invites use of your path. It looks like the main path.

I think if you approach them nicely and explain that they are setting off the Ring doorbell, they'll stop using it.

"Would you mind sticking to your path to come in and out?"

If that doesn't deter them they are fuckers.

I thought it was obvious 🫣

And it’s not a choice for many people, we can’t all afford houses with big drives and private access.

It’s still an absolutely ridiculous thing to get worked up about - but then, this is MN, so I shouldn’t really expect anything less 😉

I couldn't get bothered about this but it's easily solved by putting a small garden bench on the pathway.

These are very commonplace in the Medway towns And no not everyone has a " choice" on whether or not to buy them Finances play a part you know

Bizarre how utterly ignorant some people actually are.

I think you and your DH should go round together with a bottle of wine, to welcome them, and kindly but clearly tell them.

IF that fails (I’m sure it won’t) start loitering outside their window and use their path.

Or get a very large flower trough to put between your front doors. A large rectangular stainless steel horse/cattle water trough will do the trick.

Bit drastic @Bellyblueboy !

I'm surprised you have an issue with this. The lighter paving clearly indicates that pedestrian access to their front door is via the central path that is to the left of your picture, and past your front door to get to the house on the right. I wouldn't bother speaking to the neighbours about it because every parcel delivery courier and visitor to their house will do the same and it's weird to be sensitive about it when you have bought a house where there is so clearly a pathway to your neighbour's front door leading past your house front embedded into the ground like this. If proximity to your house front was problematic to you, this was the wrong house to buy and you need one with a clearly fenced off and potentially lawned area at the front. Noone is going to care what is on the deeds when the physical structure of the paving underfoot clearly indicates that this is the correct path.

This. For the love of God, OP, get some hobbies as you've clearly got too much spare time on your hands if you're getting worked so up about this.

What I don't get is why the developers didn't put a shared path up the middle between parking spaces direct to the front doors Would make far more sense

Are you serious?

Having someone walking past your window- which is your own land and your private space - is not a trivial matter.

OP OWNS that land. It would infuriate me as it's really not on.
You don't want people peering into your house or disturbing you with their footsteps at any time of day and night.

As I've said they don't need to squeeze down the gap. It's a good size path just like ours. Yes a pushchair would fit.

Just park your car closer so the neighbours would have to climb over your bonnet to get past.

This, maybe it’s on their deeds too, otherwise how are they supposed to get to their house ?

If this path is your property, I’d assume the path by the fence is property of their neighbour ?

It wouldn't make more sense because that means 2 houses using one footpath. Less space for each, more aware of your neighbour's comings and goings etc.

Agree, especially if they have a look inside every time they walk past.

I despair.
They get to their house by the footpath on the far right of the photo- look and you can see it.

No it does not indicate that, their path is shown in green, which is the same colour as the path going past ours. The colour of the paving is irrelevant when I've said it's our property.