Neighbour building a drive onto private road

ThisIsWeird

Section62 said:

ThisIsWeird said:

Residing on land without consent in or with a vehicle

The PCSC Act 2022 introduced this as a new offence.

This means that it will now be a criminal offence (rather than a civil matter) for a person aged 18 or over to reside on land without the consent of the owner if they have, or intend to have, a vehicle with them, and refuse to leave and remove their property when asked. They also need to be causing, or deemed likely to cause, significant damage (including excessive noise, smells, litter or other damage to the environment), disruption (including interference with a ‘supply of water, energy or fuel’) or distress (including using words or displaying any writing that is ‘threatening, abusive or insulting’). If police believe this is happening, they may seize any ‘relevant’ property belonging to, or in the possession or control of the alleged defendant, including vehicles or any property on the land, which they may keep for up to 3 months or until the end of any criminal proceedings that result from the matter.

You cannot return to the same land for 12 months after being asked to leave.

^The key thing here is residing in or with the vehicle on land that doesn't belong to you... it doesn't apply where the vehicle is just parked on someone else's land and you are residing elsewhere.

....unless the neighbour is living in the van where it is parked, and is 18 or over.

That's just one example. And I think the main AggTres issues are covered by points 1 and 2 in that post.
From what I understand, this neighbour has crossed the line into 'aggravated' trespass in a few ways. The OP just needs to be able to prove it.

nyermen

Probably an insurance issue as well, most vehicles have to be "normally kept" somewhere overnight?  Even if its a commercial vehicle?  And I doubt that "on private land that the insured driver has no right of access over" counts?

Gavin83

ThisIsWeird said:

Section62 said:

ThisIsWeird said:

Residing on land without consent in or with a vehicle

The PCSC Act 2022 introduced this as a new offence.

This means that it will now be a criminal offence (rather than a civil matter) for a person aged 18 or over to reside on land without the consent of the owner if they have, or intend to have, a vehicle with them, and refuse to leave and remove their property when asked. They also need to be causing, or deemed likely to cause, significant damage (including excessive noise, smells, litter or other damage to the environment), disruption (including interference with a ‘supply of water, energy or fuel’) or distress (including using words or displaying any writing that is ‘threatening, abusive or insulting’). If police believe this is happening, they may seize any ‘relevant’ property belonging to, or in the possession or control of the alleged defendant, including vehicles or any property on the land, which they may keep for up to 3 months or until the end of any criminal proceedings that result from the matter.

You cannot return to the same land for 12 months after being asked to leave.

^The key thing here is residing in or with the vehicle on land that doesn't belong to you... it doesn't apply where the vehicle is just parked on someone else's land and you are residing elsewhere.

....unless the neighbour is living in the van where it is parked, and is 18 or over.

From what I understand, this neighbour has crossed the line into 'aggravated' trespass in a few ways. The OP just needs to be able to prove it.

I think you're really stretching the definition of aggravated trespass to be honest. I'm not really sure what lawful activities the neighbour has obstructed the OP from doing. I certainly don't think making it a little harder to park will cut it, nor will telling the neighbours to mind their own business.

Aggravated trespass appears to have been created primarily against protestors of things like hunting/fracking.

ThisIsWeird

Gavin83 said:

I think you're really stretching the definition of aggravated trespass to be honest. I'm not really sure what lawful activities the neighbour has obstructed the OP from doing. I certainly don't think making it a little harder to park will cut it, nor will telling the neighbours to mind their own business.

Aggravated trespass appears to have been created primarily against protestors of things like hunting/fracking.

You could be right. It does seem to be a bit of a grey area. There are various expressions in the rules that could be interpreted as being valid in this case, but not certain.

I also think there is quite a difference between 'passively' leaving a car on someone else's property and doing so with the express intention of continuing to do so, or repeating the trespass, not leaving when asked, and - especially - behaving in an aggressive and intimidating manner when challenged.

Even if this hasn't crossed the 'legal' boundary, once these other elements are added, the police are far more likely to respond, and be more firm with the miscreant. It should also make any civil action easier to take, as the miscreant would now have demonstrated that they are not taking the advice of the police officer - they certainly cannot claim, for example, "I didn't know I was doing wrong."

The OP has been told what to do to cover themselves and collect a solid case, whatever further action may need to be taken. If this comes down to 'He said - no I didn't!' or 'Well, yeah, but you were aggressive too!', then he's in a weak place.

He also hasn't told us if he, or his 3 neighbs, has LegProt.