Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Other subjects
Original poster

Do people have any parking rights over the public road immediately outside their house?

56 replies

BadgerBadger · 16/04/2005 22:16

I am asking as today the woman opposite us came and complained that one of the guests at my DD1's birthday party was parked outside her house and demended she move the car (which she did).

Thing is, the last time one of my visitors parked outside her house (my midwife just prior to my homebirth) she accosted her in the street and demanded she move her car. I'm irritated because I would understand her problem if we consistently parked outside her house rather than ours maybe, but I'm talking about two occasions (and special ones at that!) in the space of nearly a year!

She's obviously very, very petty. But does she have any legal rights to this area of public road at all?

(She also has a drive capable of housing two or three cars, BTW!)

OP posts:
Caligula · 16/04/2005 23:04

She's a loon.

Ellaroo, in that situation I would have called the police. Your neighbour's a nutter.

Original poster
BadgerBadger · 16/04/2005 23:08

Ellaroo, smae here. I mean for the sake of harmony we've obliged (on the two whole occasions one of our guests has parked there!). But, I do find it embarrassing, I know it's not me being petty, but I do feel as though people I invite to my house shouldn't be met by this onslaught when they have done absolutely nothing wrong.

alux, that's a thought! Maybe I should invite the whole of my martial arts group and urge them to park wherever they damn well please!

OP posts:
Ellaroo · 16/04/2005 23:10

We didn't call the police as I realised that I would be more scared living next door to him if we'd had him taken away for the night and then he was back the next day. However, a couple of days later we reported the incident to the police so that there was a record of it incase anything happened in the future, but asked them not to act on it for now.

Original poster
BadgerBadger · 16/04/2005 23:13

Ellaroo, that's outrageous!

OP posts:
Original poster
BadgerBadger · 16/04/2005 23:14

(I mean, what he did is outrageous!)

OP posts:
BadHair · 16/04/2005 23:21

Our neighbour is paranoid about parking his van right outside his house. If he can't, he moves it as soon as the space is available. He gets up at 2, 3, 4am just to shift it, even though he leaves at 7 anyway. I sometimes park there just to pss him off as he's an arrogant twt.

Caligula · 16/04/2005 23:22

I think I'd be permanently scared of living next to someone who was that out of control anyway, and I think sometimes people are so amazed that the police have been called to them (because it's not part of their self-image that they are the sort of people the police would visit) that it brings them up short. (The police would probably not have taken him away, btw, they would just give him a warning - unless of course, he started laying into them!)

I called the police on a mad neighbour once, who for reasons best known to herself didn't like what I was doing with my fence on my land (she lived about six doors down!)and had to come and tell me so, with threats of criminal damage to go with it ("I'm gonna stick a brick through your window". They just went round and explained to her in no uncertain terms that her behaviour constituted a threat of criminal damage, and if any part of my property were damaged, she would be the first suspect. She was absolutely shocked - it had simply not occurred to her that her behaviour could be construed as anything other than normal neighbourly concern! I never heard from her again.

Original poster
BadgerBadger · 16/04/2005 23:37

Caligula, it's astounding that some people behave like this!

When we were renting, our HA took one of our neighbours to court three times over noise nuisance. It didn't make any difference at all, unfortunately! The police were constantly in and out too as he used to stand outside our house, hurling abuse at all hours.

I'd hope that police intervention would usually be enough to make people think twice though.

OP posts:
sparklymieow · 17/04/2005 00:10

I have a slightly different problem where people park across my drive and block me in, normally people visiting the hosptial, so you can't get out for hours. Very annoying.....

bubble99 · 17/04/2005 00:27

That's not fair is it sparklymieow? And I bet they don't leave a 'phone number on the windscreen so that you can ask them to move.

Parking across driveways and parking in bus-lanes are two no-no's

sparklymieow · 17/04/2005 00:30

the other thing they do, is see the car isn't there and park across the drive and then I have to park miles (ok..... a bit of a lie!! but you get the idea!!) away from my house and then have to get two disabled kids out of the car and walk them up to the house

bubble99 · 17/04/2005 00:34

If your road is wide enough, I'd be tempted to double park them and make them sweat

sparklymieow · 17/04/2005 00:40

if I doubleparked then noone would get down the street good idea tho.... have put notes on windscreens before... have had to park on pavements before. sometimes you can't get through the cars that have parked in the street because someone has parked on one side and then someone has parked half on the pavement and half on the road so they leave a tiny tiny gap that you are supposed to squeeze your car through.... parking is terrible here, the neighbourhood has asked the council to make it residences only parking but the council refused, yet the next town, which is under the same council, has just been allowed to have residences only parking in some of the streets because of the uni.

WideWebWitch · 17/04/2005 07:30

I haven't read the other responses but she's v rude and afaik has no right to be able to park outside her house! I must admit though, mostly in our street people leave the space right outside our house for me, which is great since I've got a baby to get out of the car and I feel inordinately peed off if I come home and find someone's parked in it. I then have to remind myself that it's NOT my divine right to park outside my house and if I want that we need to move somewhere with off street parking!

Blossomhill · 17/04/2005 08:54

Mieow I would be tempted to put a sign up saying that access is needed for disabled children!

flamesparrow · 17/04/2005 09:33

I wish my neighbours were nice like yours WWW... one side of me have a drive and two cars, and they won't block themselves in... they park in the only space near or house where we can park so that they have easy access to both cars, and we have to lug sleeping toddler from halfway down the street!!!

Is it really that hard just to block your own drive and move one of the cars if you need the other one???

Blu · 17/04/2005 10:16

Badgerbadger - what about printing off or photocopying a section of the highway code, and putting it through her letterbox with a nice note saying 'to save further embarrassment I thought it might help if we clear up the law around parking. As you can see, .....If you have any further comments about this, perhaps you would like to disuss it?'. Then, if she comes over and argues tell her firmly that if she actually harrasses anyone, you will call the police.

Miaou · 17/04/2005 10:55

When dh and I were students we lived in a terraced house on a busy main road, so had to park our car up the side street, wherever we could find a space. New people moved in on the side street, and the chap (we called him "Daffodil Man" because he wore bright green trousers and a bright yellow shirt) came round and asked us to move the car from in front of his house. Dh politely pointed out that there was nowhere else to park it and we were within our rights to park it there. Daffodil man then started to threaten us and our car, and we told him we would call the police if he didn't back off. He didn't, so we did! Police then pointed out to us that in theory nobody is allowed to park within 15 feet of a junction, and his house was on the corner, so if we were all going to get arsey about it they would stop everyone parking there!! They told daffodil man the same and he left us alone after that - I think he was worried about losing his parking place entirely!

Moomin · 17/04/2005 11:44

I agree it's very annoying. However, for the sake of harmony, BadgerBadger, and as it doesn't seem to be a regular problems maybe it's best to just keep her happy? She obviously has very little going on in her life that this is the most worrying thing for her and I can imagine that all the while someone's car is parked outside her house she'd be on pins and checking the window every minute. It's sad really. I agree that it could be seen as bullying as she clearly has no right to call the shots, but I would rather do as BadgerBadger has done and think of her as a bit loopy than start kicking off or telling her you have no intention of moving.

If it happens again and you don't feel it's necessary for your guest to move their car or there's no other space just firmly and politely tell her how long your guest will be there and leave it at that. IME it's really not worth starting running battles with neighbours as it can have a really negative effect on your everyday life.

suedonim · 17/04/2005 14:27

Sparklymieow, would the council not put in special disabled parking lines for you? My sis's dh was disabled (he sadly died last year) and they had a special space marked up outside their house. I guess it was different in that they had no off-street parking but it wouldn't do any harm to ask, maybe?

sparklymieow · 17/04/2005 16:48

I have already asked for lines to be done and was told that because I have a drive I couoldn't have lines or disable bay put in...

Bearess · 17/04/2005 16:49

could you get a traffic cone mieow - put it across the drive?

suedonim · 17/04/2005 16:54

That's ridiculous, Sparklymieow. What's the use of a drive if you can't access it?? I really wonder if our 'esteemed leaders' actually live on the same planet as us.

SaintGeorge · 17/04/2005 17:42

If they won't give you a disabled bay because of the drive, why can't they do a stretch of double yellow lines in front of your drive instead?

misdee · 17/04/2005 20:22

the council would onyl be able to put a white disabled box outside mieows house. as its only a coutesy spot then anyone would still be able to use it, and people with badges as well.