Reserving car park spaces that don't belong to anybody in particular

Gavin83

AubreyMac wrote: »

A neighbour from my road has done this today.

I have seen other people do this with wheelie bins in other roads.

I'm sure nobody is allowed to reserve spaces that do not belong to anyone in particular, therefore it is not their right to claim spots.

Would I be in trouble if I moved any obstacles that are there to reserve spaces such as wheelie bins and cones?

I used to work in a weird office that was on the edge of a small residential area and the only parking on site was reserved for management so we had to park in the street. There were a number of houses who used to place cones/bins/other obstacles outside their house to reserve 'their' space and I often used to move them and park there. The only exception was on the odd occasion a house who didn't normally do it would do so. I'd assume in this case there was a special reason and generally at lunch you'd find a removal van outside or something similar.

Be prepared for an argument though, I got into several regarding this. One guy said I shouldn't expect to find my car in one piece when I got back as they have vandals in the area. I gently suggested he should be careful as the same vandals might cause damage to his property which resulted in much aggression on his part but I did come back at the end of the day to an untouched car.

The fact it's on a private road might complicate matters somewhat.

jackyann

If you are in a housing association block, then do they control the parking spaces?
If so, what are their policies? You should be able to ask them and get a copy.
Armed with that, you can point out the problem.
However, I agree that I wouldn't fuss for a one-off; and I would ask around if you can as well. Someone may do this when they expect a disabled visitor or something similar.
A bit of give-and-take is expected, but not, on the whole, a permanent "claim"

Cash-Cows

AubreyMac wrote: »

Really? They clamp and would tow too, although it doesn't happen much as everyone does have a permit.

It's a criminal offence to clamp on private land. If it happens ring the Police.

pogofish

AubreyMac wrote: »

Really? They clamp and would tow too, although it doesn't happen much as everyone does have a permit.

Absolutely!

Its been illegal since September 2012 - except for very specific and legally regulated purposes eg Police, VOSA/DVLA.

The days of the private predator with his clamp are long-gone. If they try it-on now its a criminal matter!

In a private or housing assoc car park, it may be that you all have allocated spaces - a check of your paperwork should reveal that but simply marking their spaces with random objects is probably not-on!

I'm puzzled why this is in MRF - Do you have a relationship with your parking space, or someone close under it? Housing, Motoring or Parking would seem a better choice of forum?

cliffsgirl

Clamping and towing away cars is still legal in Northern Ireland.

thorsoak

Reminds me of the BBC TV series BREAD - where they rushed out with the parking cones!

LilElvis

thorsoak wrote: »

Reminds me of the BBC TV series BREAD - where they rushed out with the parking cones!

Our neighbours used to do this when I was at university. Husband pulled the car away from the curb whilst the wife hovered with the cones (stored behind their front garden wall) ready to plonk them down the minute there was room to place them. We used to "liberate" the cones on a regular basis and stash them in the cellar. By the time we had graduated there were enough cones down there to form a motorway contraflow

trolleyrun

One of my neighbours actually bought a car he doesn't need to save a space! Yes, he's a pathetic "man"

oystercatcher

I wouldn't move cones to park simply because I would worry my car may suffer revenge damage when I wasn't looking.

comeandgo

There were cones left out on the street the night prior to my neighbour moving, the council had left them due to large removal vans needing the space the following day. Some of the other neighbours decided to move them, vans arrived, no place to park, council warden contacted, cars got tickets and were removed.