Neighbours blocking shared Access-way - no dropped Kerb

ChumLee

Trebor16 wrote: »

That would be the case if the car was parked on a proper driveway, but if someone takes a chance and puts there car where it shouldn't be, and then complains about obstruction, they are on a sticky wicket. It wouldn't be wilful obstruction. A council CEO wouldn't issue a ticket for parking in front of a driveway in such circumstances.

The police would deal with the obstruction offence.

makara

Trebor16 wrote: »

That would be the case if the car was parked on a proper driveway, but if someone takes a chance and puts there car where it shouldn't be, and then complains about obstruction, they are on a sticky wicket. It wouldn't be wilful obstruction. A council CEO wouldn't issue a ticket for parking in front of a driveway in such circumstances.

All the other Semis in our road have proper converted drive-ways - hence the Council (when they painted Resident Parking bays) also painted single-yellow lines outside the dropped-kerb drive-ways.


Whereas our Access had a (part of a 4-car long) Resident Parking bay painted outside it.


As for the Police getting involved - a few years back, a colleague of mine parked her car on her front (paved over) garden...with no dropped kerb.


Although there are NO Resident (or any other type) Parking bays on her road, someone parked outside her front garden, effectively blocking her in.


She left an angry note on their windscreen - but I believe the Police told her they couldn't get involved in having the "offending" car removed, because...no dropped Kerb...


(EDIT - she told me she stopped parking on her paved front garden after that - and parked on the road instead).

makara

Trebor16 wrote: »

but if someone takes a chance and puts there car where it shouldn't be, and then complains about obstruction, they are on a sticky wicket

That's a good point - if whoever had parked their car in the Access-way, and it got blocked in by a third-party (it could be another one of our neighbours - or even someone from a different street...as our Resident Permits extend across several streets in the Town) - and the blocked-in person calls the Police - what if the Police then ask them if they used a Crane to hoist their car into the Access-way, in order to avoid illegally driving over an undropped Kerb (EDIT - and Pedestrian paving stones) ?


I agree 100% with the "sticky wicket" term

makara

I've also noticed where I park for Work (in Ealing), there are several "Garages" on the sides or fronts of some people's houses that no doubt at one time were used for parking cars in.


However - over the years / decades, things must obviously have changed in those roads - as a lot of said garages now have UNDROPPED Kerbs in front of them...


Other people calmly park outside those garages - because of the kerbs no longer being dropped. I've never seen any notes left on the windscreens of those cars - nor any tickets issued by Ealing Council.


P.S. - there aren't any Resident Only bays in these particular roads...although I'm not sure if that would make any difference anyway.

stator

bazster wrote: »

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.

Why do you think that one action can only have one intention?

Corelli

OP, I feel for you. Bollards or some large and heavy item in the shared access sounds a very good idea, as soon as you can do so. Regarding the legality of blocking in a car that has got to its parking place by driving over an undropped kerb, have a look at what Brent council did.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-524838/Cars-trapped-illegal-driveways-council-fits-bollards-middle-night.html

makara

Corelli wrote: »

OP, I feel for you. Bollards or some large and heavy item in the shared access sounds a very good idea, as soon as you can do so. Regarding the legality of blocking in a car that has got to its parking place by driving over an undropped kerb, have a look at what Brent council did.

Thanks very much for the empathy. As mentioned early on in the thread, we never tried to oust the other party from FAIR shared usage...it has come to this stage because they made it clear from Day # 1 of moving next door that they (and their acquaintances) were going to be the sole users.


I hope Hounslow council adopt Brent's hard-line approach

- ok, it means we won't be able to use the Access-way either, BUT...we haven't actually been able to do so ANYWAY since these people moved in 22 months ago...so it's not like we'd actually be losing anything!

And as for building materials, etc we might need to be deposited in the Access-way - I imagine those could easily be hoisted by a truck / crane device over a single bollard (to be used at the rear of our property).

makara

To get an idea...here's a photo I took (scrubbed Reg. plate of course...) of the situation late last month...when these Neigbours rented out *ahem* I mean...LEANT out the shared Access-way to the person owning the white vehicle...whom we had no idea of.


Neighbour's house on the left - complete with stacked-up rubbish, as per every day of the week (regardless of whether there's a car in there or not).


Rats and Foxes are loving it of course.


You might be able to see a sack on the right of the photo (at the other end of the white car) on our side - that my Mother had to leave there, as she couldn't get past the white car (and she's of slim build) with a sack full of rubbish.


I did contemplate throwing the sack OVER the white car, like a caber-toss - but thought I might miss


P.S. The photo also shows the Pedestrian paving flag stones outside the Access-way - hence no dropped kerb...


http://i686.photobucket.com/albums/vv221/makaras/MSE/Neigbours%20-%20White%20car%20-%20July%2019th%20-%202015%20-%20Back%20-%20Reg_zpsnkgbvnlt.jpg

Trebor16

ChumLee wrote: »

Can yo back that up with any legislation?

The fact you are asking suggests you can't.

Trebor16

ChumLee wrote: »

The police would deal with the obstruction offence.

What exactly would be obstructed? In the absence of a dropped kerb it wouldn't be a driveway.