Shared drive with neighbours - Am I not allowed to block my own half of the drive?

NameUnavailable

I had problems with cars parking across the dropped kerb to my drive/garage in previous home. I spoke to the council who advised me that legally there was nothing I could do if I was being blocked out, but they could remove a vehicle blocking me in.

The links mentioned above refer to dropped kerbs where it is for pedstrian/wheelchair access, i.e. a crossing point or near a road junction, which is another matter.

However there is another issue here in that if the OP's visitors car is making it difficult for the neighbour to enter/exit their driveway you could argue that the visitors car is creating a dangerous obstruction (visibility etc) and it might also be that the width of the road is such that there isn't enough room for a vehicle to turn in/out of the drive. Without seeing the road and markings etc. we just don't know. The OP might be unreasonable here or it might be the neighbour - it all depends on details which the OP isn't willing to share.

swingaloo

I don't think the OP is coming back to the thread. He has consistently ignored any suggestion that he could move his car when his visitors come and he has ignored ever request about the getting the Land Registry details. Perhaps he was hoping for everyone to agree that his neighbour was the unreasonable one.

greatcrested

OP does not seem as concerned as the contributers to the last 12 pages. Has not been back for 24 hours!

unforeseen

My take is that it is a SINGLE dropped kerb for the benefit of both houses. Therefore the only time somebody is allowed to park anywhere across is when BOTH householders agree. 

Tiglet2

I think that the layout is like the below.  The shared element of the drive is that part which is between the two properties leading to the two garages at the back.  The front gardens have since been paved over to provide non-shared extra off road parking, but the dropped kerb spans only the shared part of the drive in the middle and doesn't extend to the non-shared parts.  The guest is parking their car in front of OPs house but half of the car is across the shared dropped kerb, resulting in a tight squeeze for the neighbour who has to manoeuvre in and out of the remainder of the dropped kerb and a lamp post where the dropped kerb ends.
 

hazyjo

That's not how I interpreted it at all. That's a bog standard shared drive. The OP said cars could fit of each side of the shared middle section. So basically you could stick a fence down the middle.

They've been asked to check deeds and asked whether there are similar properties with divides, but we're yet to hear back so prob best to ignore the thread until clarified or we're going round in circles and making an awful lot of (probably wrong) presumptions.

LittleMax

Regardless of whether it is a shared driveway or not, the fact that OP wrote on the plan "Not enough space for a car to enter" shows that they have a full understanding of the neighbour's situation and choose to disregard it.  That is selfish, and if you otherwise get on with your neighbours why would you choose to be difficult especially when you are the new comer?  My parents live at the head of a cul-de-sac where they and the neighbour opposite have large driveways but it narrows down to the roadway to only one car wide on each side.  Over 50 years depending on who has lived opposite my parents have had a fence in place and had it open.  It is certainly easier for everyone when there is no fence and everyone gets along.  

SneaksyWhippet

The layout you describe is uncannily similar to my house, except I am the one with with lamp post.

Dropped kerbs are in shown in dashed red. We actually have a fence where the dashed orange line is, between the two driveways. The pink circle is the lamp post.

When I want to reverse the red car onto my driveway, it requires some wiggling around the lamp post. Generally that is fine, but if there is a car parked where the yellow one is (where my neighbour across the road often parks, obstructing part of their own dropped kerb), or if the purple one is covering part of our dropped kerb, it can be tricky. In fact if the road is busy, any cars blocking any part of any of the dropped kerbs (ours, or opposite) can even make it tricky to reverse the blue car onto the drive too.

My neighbour generally parks in the purple location (they're currently in the process of re-doing their driveway, so don't park on it at the moment), but occasionally their visitors block part of our dropped kerb. I've always managed so never said anything, and it's very rare, but it is a problem for me when they do. It looks as if "my" lamp post may be in a less problematic position than for your neighbours so it's potentially more of an issue for them.

For the sake of neighbourly relations, and being considerate, I would avoid blocking any of your dropped kerb. Park in the purple position where possible (grab the space with your own car earlier in the day if required when you're expecting guests, so your guests can park on your drive), or elsewhere on the street. If your parents struggle to walk far, maybe you could park further down the street and they could use your drive.

Blocking the dropped kerb is causing problems for your next door neighbour, but may also be causing issues for people across the street if the layout is mirrored on the other side.

padlilly115

If it is a real issue for your neighbors to get in and out of their drive (irrespective of if you can do it I am afraid) then the suggestion to park your second car elsewhere is the neighborly thing to do.  But I also wonder, given that it only happens a few times a year, could you not just knock on their door if they are in and let them know the car is there and check if they plan to leave at any point?  My parents have had the neighbors guests park across my parents' drive on occasion if they know they won't be going anywhere (or can ask for it to be moved if they do) - but then they have lived next to the neighbors for 30+ years and have always been on good relations with them, might not be the case here.

mr_stripey

SneaksyWhippet said:

The layout you describe is uncannily similar to my house, except I am the one with with lamp post.

Dropped kerbs are in shown in dashed red. We actually have a fence where the dashed orange line is, between the two driveways. The pink circle is the lamp post.

When I want to reverse the red car onto my driveway, it requires some wiggling around the lamp post. Generally that is fine, but if there is a car parked where the yellow one is (where my neighbour across the road often parks, obstructing part of their own dropped kerb), or if the purple one is covering part of our dropped kerb, it can be tricky. In fact if the road is busy, any cars blocking any part of any of the dropped kerbs (ours, or opposite) can even make it tricky to reverse the blue car onto the drive too.

My neighbour generally parks in the purple location (they're currently in the process of re-doing their driveway, so don't park on it at the moment), but occasionally their visitors block part of our dropped kerb. I've always managed so never said anything, and it's very rare, but it is a problem for me when they do. It looks as if "my" lamp post may be in a less problematic position than for your neighbours so it's potentially more of an issue for them.

For the sake of neighbourly relations, and being considerate, I would avoid blocking any of your dropped kerb. Park in the purple position where possible (grab the space with your own car earlier in the day if required when you're expecting guests, so your guests can park on your drive), or elsewhere on the street. If your parents struggle to walk far, maybe you could park further down the street and they could use your drive.

Blocking the dropped kerb is causing problems for your next door neighbour, but may also be causing issues for people across the street if the layout is mirrored on the other side.

PLOT TWIST - you are next door neigbours with the OP....