Visibility of road when exiting shared drive - advice please

FreeBear

batman2000 said:

Section62 said:

This is why some highway authorities will just say 'no'.

I’ve checked online for my local authority and it’s a no-go, as you rightly say. It would require an application and review of the site by the council and permission is highly unlikely.

But if the council came out to do a site visit after you applied to install a mirror, they may well take note of the bin store and perhaps issue an enforcement notice.

batman2000

FreeBear said:

But if the council came out to do a site visit after you applied to install a mirror, they may well take note of the bin store and perhaps issue an enforcement notice.

Excellent point! 👍

Section62

FreeBear said:

batman2000 said:

Section62 said:

This is why some highway authorities will just say 'no'.

I’ve checked online for my local authority and it’s a no-go, as you rightly say. It would require an application and review of the site by the council and permission is highly unlikely.

But if the council came out to do a site visit after you applied to install a mirror, they may well take note of the bin store and perhaps issue an enforcement notice.

Highways vs Planning

And unless it is a unitary authority, the highways will be the county council and planning the district council, with typically little communication between the two.

Expressing concerns about visibility to the highway authority might get them to query the bin store with the planning authority, but these days it is just as likely the highway authority will tell the OP to be more careful emerging from the driveway and/or stop using it.

ThisIsWeird

batman2000 said:

Appreciate the responses, since I don’t want to seem unreasonable so different perspectives help. I’ll live with it for a day or two to fully see what the impact is, and then have another word with my neighbour about safety. I actually like the look of it, so it really isn’t a problem for me other than the visibility. 

That’s a good point about possibly needing permission for a mirror, I didn’t realise that. Although I guess they can cause problems when the sun shines on them.

You seem like a very reasonable person, Batman, and it seems very clear the only issue you have here is the safety aspect - and rightly so from what you say.

I'd go from the angle that the neighbour just doesn't realise the impact of what he's done - after all, he looks over it! So, perhaps time for a little more assertiveness, and actually asking him to witness for himself how tricky it is. This should not rile the guy - if it does, then you know you are dealing with a twit. But a, "I love your shed - I have no issues with it from that pov - but it's making getting out from my drive a risky business as I can't clearly see oncoming traffic - could you come and have a look at what I mean?" And either sit him in the passenger seat, or get him to pull your car out as you stand on the other side of the road keeping an eye on the traffic. 

If he remains dismissive, then you need to up the ante, because you are now dealing with an inconsiderate person. Keep reminding yourself - you are in the right, and he's a twit. "I'm surprised you think it's ok, but it's not a risk I'm prepared to keep on taking a few times a day, especially when I have folk on board. What's more, I have been told that 'Planning' are unlikely to find it acceptable..."

If you need to take it this far, then make it clear you are doing so - be upfront about it, as you should be. Any moans, then turn it around and ask Qs; "Are you saying that my family should carry on taking this risk just so you can have a bike shed there?" Repeat ad nauseam until he accepts, 'No'. And the fail-safe about being reported; "Well, what did you expect...?" "I showed you the problem, but you wouldn't accept it."

batman2000

Thanks for that @Section62, it sounds like it could be a lot of hassle and lead to very little then. And I certainly can’t afford to stop using the drive exit 😬.

@ThisIsWeird, I really appreciate your response and will bare all of this in mind. I find this kind of situation difficult to handle 🙁. I’ve already suggested to my neighbour that he tries exiting the driveway in his car rather than the van (which he parks it somewhere else) so will see if he does that.

sevenhills

ThisIsWeird said:

I'd go from the angle that the neighbour just doesn't realise the impact of what he's done - after all, he looks over it!

He could quite legally plant a bush or hedge, the same effect as a log store; so I can see why he feels a log store should be ok.

breaking_free

ThisIsWeird beat me to it. I was going to suggest getting him to jump in your car (with you in the passenger seat) so that he can replicate your experience. Once he sees for himself how much your sightline is encumbered he will hopefully be much more amenable to fixing the problem.

Belenus

I can see it now.

Neighbour drives OP's car out onto the road and causes a major accident.

That will make a fun insurance claim.

We were trying to demonstrate the danger of the lack of visibility.

ThisIsWeird

Well, if it's ok to drive in order to test your eyesight...

batman2000

sevenhills said:

He could quite legally plant a bush or hedge, the same effect as a log store; so I can see why he feels a log store should be ok.

I checked this out on planning portal, which says “ You do not need planning permission for hedges as such, though if a planning condition or a covenant restricts planting (for example, on "open plan" estates, or where a driver's sight line could be blocked) you may need planning permission and/or other consent.”
It’s a bit vague though, and there are some hedges around so I do understand your point.