Private Car Park Used To Keep Untaxed Cars

lorryw

I live in a property overlooking the car park of a block of flats. Doing the summer months when sitting in the garden I could smell strong paint fumes. I noticed that a guy was spray painting a car in flats car park. When I mentioned the strong fumes he was very rude and intimidating so I just left it and walked away.
However months later it is still going on and seems to have turned into some kind of garage work shop. Cars appear (all untaxed) are worked on and then disappear. I have no idea how they arrive (can they be driven if untaxed?) or where they go. The noise and smell are driving me nuts but is this all legal and should I just mind my own business?

AdrianC

Does he have the permission of the owner/operator of the car park? Are there any measures in place to restrict unauthorised use of the car park?

Is he doing it in the course of business, or to his own vehicles as a hobby?

If they're untaxed, they can't be driven legally - unless he's using tradeplates in the course of his business. But any offence of using an untaxed car is down to the driver, and is totally separate from any use of the car park.

What sort of "spraying" are we talking about? Rattlecans or compressor and gun? There may be environmental health implications, but the local authority will have higher priorities currently.

lorryw

Now I remember why I don't use this site for help! But thank you for your reply AdrianC

Grumpy_chap

Are there any clauses in the deeds of the flats about what the car park can be used for?  Often, not permitted for repairing vehicles, or business purposes.

lorryw

Not sure why its mind my own business. The noise interferes with my sleep after a hospital night shift. I struggle to pay my road tax and fail to see why it seems to be okay for others not to bother.

NottinghamKnight

If you think something illegal s being done then report to the police on the non emergency number. If there are environmental issues then contact your local council and ask them to investigate.

Ectophile

If it's a business being run without planning permission, then it's the council who needs to deal with it.

Ectophile

lorryw said:

Not sure why its mind my own business. The noise interferes with my sleep after a hospital night shift. I struggle to pay my road tax and fail to see why it seems to be okay for others not to bother.

Don't forget, there's a "Report" button for reporting abusive posts.  But unfortunately you never get any feedback on what the moderators have decided to do.

AdrianC

lorryw said:

The noise interferes with my sleep after a hospital night shift.

You mean there's noise in an urban environment during normal working hours...?
It is simply not realistic or reasonable to expect silence at all hours of the day. Most people are diurnal, and it's your night-shifts that put you out of kilter with the rest of the world's clock.
Is that a pain for you? Yes, unfortunately, it is - but it's part of what you simply have to get used to when you're working nights and trying to sleep in the day.

I struggle to pay my road tax and fail to see why it seems to be okay for others not to bother.

If you see a car that you think is being used untaxed, you can report it to DVLA...
https://www.gov.uk/report-untaxed-vehicle

ontheroad1970

AdrianC said:

lorryw said:

The noise interferes with my sleep after a hospital night shift.

You mean there's noise in an urban environment during normal working hours...?
It is simply not realistic or reasonable to expect silence at all hours of the day. Most people are diurnal, and it's your night-shifts that put you out of kilter with the rest of the world's clock.
Is that a pain for you? Yes, unfortunately, it is - but it's part of what you simply have to get used to when you're working nights and trying to sleep in the day.

I struggle to pay my road tax and fail to see why it seems to be okay for others not to bother.

If you see a car that you think is being used untaxed, you can report it to DVLA...
https://www.gov.uk/report-untaxed-vehicle

Doesn't mean that the OP has to put up with nauseous smells, and so I would see this as a legitimate source of complaint to the local environmental health team.

lorryw

I do appreciate that most people are not nocturnal. I was simply explaining my current position. I have always worked several night shifts and environmental noise hasn't been a problem but it is at the moment.
 I am not going to write anything further, some people are just sarcastic or deliberately antagonistic.