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Original poster

Neighbours using our driveway as a thoroughfare

173 replies

Notathoroughfare · 24/01/2022 15:18

Our neighbour’s house has a front entrance on one street and a rear entrance on our street, which means their drive is directly adjacent to ours and he has a gate at the top of his to access his garden. It’s not a shared driveway. For some reason, they never use their front door and always use the rear as an entrance/exit for them and any guests.

Because his car is massive, it takes up the whole width of his drive, which means anyone entering or leaving their gate has to walk on our driveway and it’s really starting to piss me off. They drag their bins down our drive every week, use our drive to get in and out of their car and if our car isn’t parked on our drive, they will literally just walk straight across.

We did previously ask them not to do this as they were having work done and their workmen kept using our drive to get in and out of NDN’s garden as well as leaving stuff on it and sitting on it to have their lunch. He apologised and it stopped, but increasingly, anyone who visits them will walk up our drive to get to theirs.

We can’t put a fence up because it would mean their driveway was unusable - there’s a wall on the other side of it and their drive is literally only wide enough for their car. This would also be a pretty nuclear option and we don’t want to fall out with them as if we need to do any work to the side of our house, we need to use his sideway.

I really just want to discourage them and their guests using our drive as an extension of theirs. It sounds petty but it’s several times a day and they’ve even been known to go up the middle of our drive and squeeze between the front of our car and our window to get to the gate if our bins are in the way.

There’s no room for planters down the edge of the drive so the only thing I could really think of was creating a small bin store at the top of our drive which is right by their gate. We’re on civil terms with them but not particularly friendly and I’d rather not risk a row because I’m fairly sure he would think we were being unreasonable!

If anyone has any suggestions for deterrents I’d be interested to hear them. We can’t put gates or fences on our drive as there isn’t space. Land mines also not an option.

OP posts:

Sunny300 · 27/01/2022 17:53

I am more in favour of this solution of compromise. Yes, only the neighbours use the back and visitors use the front door.

Sunny300 · 27/01/2022 18:05

Now, using your address is taking a Micky.

Original poster

Notathoroughfare · 28/01/2022 08:18

@breakdown19

We need a diagram

If you had at least read my posts you would have seen that there was a diagram.

OP posts:

Original poster

Notathoroughfare · 28/01/2022 08:24

[quote tentative3]@breakdown19 there is a diagram. Sweet Jesus but people are too obsessed with this whole fucking diagram trope on here to even read the thread.[/quote]
I agree. I suspected when I first posted this that people would just demand a diagram while pretending to not understand the question instead of posting anything useful and I was largely right.

The diagram stuff is getting ridiculous and not even particularly funny any more especially when you do actually need some advice on something.

Anyway, there have been some useful suggestions on here so thank you to those posters,

OP posts:

BuanoKubiamVej · 28/01/2022 08:31

I missed the diagram post at first but have found it now. I think a binstore area is a good idea. You could put a notice on the bin store saying "This driveway is not a right of way to (ndn address) please use front entrance around the corner if gate inaccessible"

user1471530109 · 28/01/2022 08:47

OP I think you're getting shirty with people when they are trying to help. No one has been rude to you but you're getting close to being snippy with some pp.

Am I right in thinking his driveway is at the back of his house? His actual house is in a different road? If so, I don't think you said that (apologies if I've completely got the wrong end of the stick).

If that's the case, he is even more in the wrong. Visitors etc can access his house on the other road!

HomeHomeInTheRange · 28/01/2022 09:39

@user1471530109

OP I think you're getting shirty with people when they are trying to help. No one has been rude to you but you're getting close to being snippy with some pp.

If that's the case, he is even more in the wrong. Visitors etc can access his house on the other road!

LOL, she said that in the OP, and has provided a diagram

TizerorFizz · 28/01/2022 10:02

I’ve seen the diagram. I think you should put up a fence on your own land. You seem worried about the size of his vehicle. It’s not your concern. Get any house maintenance done. He must let you have access for that anyway. If he has to park on the street, so be it. It’s a no brainer to ensure your land is yours and he doesn’t establish rights over it. So fence it.

Hont1986 · 28/01/2022 15:27

I suspected when I first posted this that people would just demand a diagram while pretending to not understand the question instead of posting anything useful and I was largely right.

I read your OP before the diagram was posted and I didn't have a bloody clue what was going on. He has a drive at the back of his house, outside his garden? What? The diagram stuff is treated like a joke but it is usually necessary.

friskybivalves · 29/01/2022 06:39

Hello op. I can't sleep which is why I'm reading parking threads...

I'm intrigued as to the availability of parking for NDN visitors around the back. You say the front of his house is all double yellows on the main road - so have to assume that beyond this contested and congested area of your two drives there's easy parking for other randomer cars turning up? Does that mean even more that NDN guests and family members are being super lazy by just squeezing past your car and irritatingly invading your drive?

Agree with others. Bin screen or have a word. You could always do the super sweet, 'gosh your car is amazingly roomy, must be great to have so much space inside, shame it makes it such a tight squeeze for us out here. Can you please remind visitors to go round the front as I don't want them having to stray onto my side the whole time and risking damage to my car. And it would be such a bore to get to the point of needing to put up a physical barrier on my side - even a low one. It would make it harder to manoeuvre.'

TizerorFizz · 29/01/2022 08:45

Why use deep bins? Odd choice!

Footgoose · 29/01/2022 18:03

Not read all the replies so may have been suggested . Tall short fence between both houses . Won’t impact on cars entering and leaving the drives but will block off their access if the cars don’t leave a gap.

cabbageking · 29/01/2022 23:50

Retractable garden screen.Random example below

www.manomano.co.uk/p/retractable-side-awning-garden-patio-privacy-screen-160-x-300-cm-beige-23262605?model_id=23243498

withgraceinmyheart · 30/01/2022 00:04

Put a fence up. You’ve explained it and they don’t care, and are royally taking the piss.

TizerorFizz · 30/01/2022 09:52

I cannot see the need to facilitate them getting out of a big vehicle by using your land. Just fence off what you own. Using bins that are 600 deep doesn’t make sense.

Howshouldibehave · 30/01/2022 10:05

I agree. I suspected when I first posted this that people would just demand a diagram while pretending to not understand the question instead of posting anything useful and I was largely right

Yes, clearly it’s people taking the time to read your post and just ‘pretending’ they don’t understand. How rude.

ABitBesottedWithMyDog · 30/01/2022 11:19

I don't know the law but I would be worried about creating a right of way type easement here

TizerorFizz · 30/01/2022 17:10

@ABitBesottedWithMyDog
I thought that too. Why give the opportunity for an argument? If people have no on street parking and have a mini bus type vehicle, it should fit on their land without using anyone else’s when people get out of it. You don’t have to make your land available to someone else. So fence it snd establish that you control its use. Unless they already have a right of passage over it, of course.

BlueMongoose · 30/01/2022 19:37

Forgive me if I have read the diagram wrong, but why can't the CFs remove the gate, extend their drive into the 'non-drive' bit and park there? Then they and their visitors could cross their drive to get to their gate.
If they chose a big vehicle, and it will only just fit their drive, then they should at the very least use their front door for everything except accessing their car and tell their friends to do the same. The are already trespassing on your kindness by expecting you to put up with them using your drive to get out of their car.
If they don't stop using their driveway in the way they are doing, it's fence time.

BlueMongoose · 30/01/2022 19:39

@tillytoodles1

Our ex-neighbour was petty like that. The drive was narrow and we had to step out of the passenger side onto his drive, then walk around the car to get to our front door. He put up a fence and we had to extend our drive sideways and take up most if our front garden.

That's not 'petty'. If you have a drive that's not big enough, then you need to extend it on your own land, not use someone else's land.

LookItsMeAgain · 31/01/2022 16:59

Would you be able to get a few of these (not necessarily located right beside each other so not actually forming a fence but also not blocking their driveway either, say 3 of them with a 1m gap between where they are placed on your driveway) and locate the planter pots bit on your side of the driveway? It's the time for planting bulbs and so on so it wouldn't be seen as out of the ordinary...
www.diy.com/departments/bopha-pressure-treated-wood-brown-wooden-rectangular-trough-31cm/1906371_BQ.prd

GiantKitten · 31/01/2022 17:38

@BlueMongoose

Forgive me if I have read the diagram wrong, but why can't the CFs remove the gate, extend their drive into the 'non-drive' bit and park there? Then they and their visitors could cross their drive to get to their gate. If they chose a big vehicle, and it will only just fit their drive, then they should at the very least use their front door for everything except accessing their car and tell their friends to do the same. The are already trespassing on your kindness by expecting you to put up with them using your drive to get out of their car. If they don't stop using their driveway in the way they are doing, it's fence time.

It’s NDN drive, not non-drive, but it looks the huge car would be right next to OP’s house if they drove all the way in & presumably the wall stops them steering away from OP’s house. It is complicated

gummggum · 31/01/2022 17:46

Can they knock down or lower their wall if you put a fence up ? Sounds like the solution. As it goes it's not your problem, but it will get frosty. One of those things.

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