Neighbours blocking shared Access-way - no dropped Kerb

stator

bazster wrote: »

Immobilising a vehicle is only unlawful under PoFA 2012 if it's done with the intention of preventing its removal. If, as the OP states, there is a marked parking bay on the road then anyone parking in it could plausibly argue that they were simply parking on the public highway as they were perfectly entitled to do. The vehicle getting blocked in was merely collateral damage.

If the car is visible from the road you wouldn't be able to plead ignorance.

makara

TeamPlum wrote: »

Seems to me you have a few options.

1) Block them in parking over the access way. If you're scared about them damaging your car, install CCTV.

2) Buy something big from a builders merchant - bags of sand, paving slabs - and leave them against your side of the alleyway.

3) Build a fence.

Point 2) is what we are considering (as an alternative to a bollard).

If the neighbours then complain (to the Council) that we are leaving objects in the Access-way - I can point out from my photos that they leave Rubbish on their side, and Cars on the entire width...so...

We also have a large wooden clothes cupboard...which we could easily empty (as it needs replacing) - and then stick it on our side, and fill it with building materials...


...leaving our Neighbours totally stuck when (in November) their Resident Permit runs out, which they won't want to renew for at least 2 months...it will be nice to see how many Parking tickets they get issued with, for parking on the roadside without a valid Resident Permit...

Stoke

TeamPlum wrote: »

Seems to me you have a few options.

1) Block them in parking over the access way. If you're scared about them damaging your car, install CCTV.

2) Buy something big from a builders merchant - bags of sand, paving slabs - and leave them against your side of the alleyway.

3) Build a fence.

So spend your own money because the council are too lazy to help. Great idea.

I've recently had genuine issues, not with a shared drive, but a similar issue, and tbh, they don't listen to reason and as for CCTV. pfft, police would probably use the same excuse the last time i used CCTV which was "they're entitled to privacy".

TeamPlum

Stoke wrote: »

So spend your own money because the council are too lazy to help. Great idea.

I've recently had genuine issues, not with a shared drive, but a similar issue, and tbh, they don't listen to reason and as for CCTV. pfft, police would probably use the same excuse the last time i used CCTV which was "they're entitled to privacy".

Alright, calm down . . .

If the council are too lazy to help, then spending your own money would be the sensible idea, no? Otherwise nothing is going to get done.

TeamPlum

Interestingly, back in the day - my house had a shared drive with next door. The then owners had a fall out, and the guy who had my house put a fence down his side of the driveway, and built a garage which blocked all sunlight into their kitchen.

Always a possibility . . .

Stoke

TeamPlum wrote: »

Alright, calm down . . .

If the council are too lazy to help, then spending your own money would be the sensible idea, no? Otherwise nothing is going to get done.

Hmm. eventually it will.

bazster

stator wrote: »

If the car is visible from the road you wouldn't be able to plead ignorance.

You don't have to plead ignorance! The law doesn't forbid knowingly blocking someone in!

All you are doing is parking in a marked parking space on the public highway where you are perfectly entitled to park. Blocking someone in to prevent them removing their car was not your intention, and if they were parked somewhere stupid where they took the risk they might get blocked in then that's their problem.

ChumLee

Stoke wrote: »

So spend your own money because the council are too lazy to help. Great idea.

I've recently had genuine issues, not with a shared drive, but a similar issue, and tbh, they don't listen to reason and as for CCTV. pfft, police would probably use the same excuse the last time i used CCTV which was "they're entitled to privacy".

He might as well spends a few quid, he's already wiped thousands off the price of his house by involving the police and council.

stator

bazster wrote: »

You don't have to plead ignorance! The law doesn't forbid knowingly blocking someone in!

All you are doing is parking in a marked parking space on the public highway where you are perfectly entitled to park. Blocking someone in to prevent them removing their car was not your intention, and if they were parked somewhere stupid where they took the risk they might get blocked in then that's their problem.

If you park someone knowing you are blocking someone in, it is your intention. It may not be your primary motivation for parking there. But you parked there knowing what would happen, therefore it was intended.

bazster

stator wrote: »

If you park someone knowing you are blocking someone in, it is your intention. It may not be your primary motivation for parking there. But you parked there knowing what would happen, therefore it was intended.

Simply as an interpretation of English that is nonsense, but anyway the exact wording of the Act is as follows:

A person commits an offence who, without lawful authority—
(a)immobilises a motor vehicle by the attachment to the vehicle, or a part of it, of an immobilising device, or
(b)moves, or restricts the movement of, such a vehicle by any means,intending to prevent or inhibit the removal of the vehicle by a person otherwise entitled to remove it.

So to commit an offence you have to intend to prevent the vehicle's removal. If your intention is merely to park where you are entitled to park then there is no offence.