Car left on private road

thor

Somebody has left a car on the private road which is owned by the block of houses of which one is mine. We don't know who owns it but it has been there a few days and we are wondering what the legal situation is.
A few facts :-
We have not signposted the road as being private but there are no road markings.
The car is in good nick and is licensed so it is unlikely it has been dumped.
It is not blocking access but it does make manoeuvring harder.

So if the car has not been stolen who do we report it to if the owner decides they will use our road as a car park? Is there actually anything we could do about it legally at all?

s_b

speak to your local pcso if you have one they can make inquiries for you
dont touch the car the person might have a genuine reason for abandoning it like they are in hospital; etc
of course it might have been nicked and parked there to see if it has a tracker too etc so pcso is best

ppc_guy

Failing the PCSO option go to the post office and get V888. Fill it in and send to the DVLA with your £2.50 fee. Outline that the vehicle is considered abandoned and on private property and you require to notify the owner before removal.
Failing that myself or most other PPC's on here could come and remove it for you with 24 hours notice.

JethroUK

I do remember an occasion when someone blocked my dads garage when he came home from work - he told me the police wont do anything about it - he just got his trolley jack - jacked it up and droppped it clear of his drive but right in the middle of the road - the police arrived in minutes and towed it away - owner arrived on scene as it was on the tow truck - he was totally dumb-founded

vax2002

If it can be driven in to from the road without a barrier it is part of the highway.

stormbreaker

Not a criminal matter but civil. Not a lot you can do. If the matter persists then you could suggest these locking posts for owners only to access.

As far as being on the highway is concerned it is only deemed a road if the public have a RIGHT of access!

missile

We have a similar problem with a car abandoned in a private carpark. Police told us to contact DVLA.

I would be interested to find out if and how you get it moved.

Sgt_Pepper_2

vax2002 wrote: »

If it can be driven in to from the road without a barrier it is part of the highway.

Really?

That's most private drives.

patman99

You really need to affix a couple of signs to indicate that no highway rights exist over the piece of land or get the road adopted by the local authority.
If the car owner has no idea the road is private, they will continue to park there.

paddedjohn

vax2002 wrote: »

If it can be driven in to from the road without a barrier it is part of the highway.

So my driveway is part of th highway then eh? Think il call the council to do some repairs on it.

vax2002

paddedjohn wrote: »

So my driveway is part of th highway then eh? Think il call the council to do some repairs on it.

Does it have a clearly defined boundary ?
Could be a strip or line, a row of studs, a painted line, a sign something that would indicate the land is bordered from the highway, if not then your answer is yes it is the highway and case law exists to say any bit of road that can be driven in to without a "clearly defined boundary" is the highway.

Will the council maintain it, no !