Off road parking onto A road

Louviolet11

Hi,

Apologies if this isn't the correct forum for this but I was hoping to get some opinions/maybe some real world advice.

We've found a property we love but it doesn't have off road parking. At the time I saw a few houses did have it so I thought theres the potential to put it in. 

Having looked a bit deeper I can see that the majority of houses have applied for the off road parking have been rejected with only a select few being granted.

For context:

It is on an A road so is a 'classified road' which I believe comes with more restrictions.
There is lay-by parking for the houses on the road but this house does have allocated 'disabled' out the front from the previous owner which obvs won't be used if we move in.
There is a slope from the road to the house (moderate but nothing I haven't seen a driveway be crafted from before.
The road is long and straight so no blind bends to contend with 

Reasons past applications have been rejected:

Lack of visibility onto road
Lack of space for car to park perpendicular to road therefore requiring reversing into/from A road.
Potential for parking to be lost to other houses on road
Lack of space out the front.

Whats interesting about all of these reasons is that there are parking spaces off road that have been granted to at least 3 houses but the conditions are surely the same for these as the ones that were rejected?

If anyone would like to look it is Bedminster road in bristol (A road) 

lookbook

Councils don't give planning permission on A roads for the reasons you mentioned. Are you sure the planning permission was granted for the houses that have the parking?  Or did they just unofficially get the parking? 

Louviolet11

lookbook said:

Councils don't give planning permission on A roads for the reasons you mentioned. Are you sure the planning permission was granted for the houses that have the parking?  Or did they just unofficially get the parking? 

Definitely granted, I've found the permission given on the planning website so it was definitely granted for all.

ciderboy2009

Assuming that I'm looking at the right house you're going to really struggle to get permission there - it's a very busy road (one of the main routes out of Bristol towards the South) and you would be removing one of the layby parking spaces to give yourself access (the fact that it's a disabled space doesn't help).

I'm not even sure how you would put a parking space in the front garden there as it looks like it's a fair bit below the road level

user1977

Others may be able to point to more specific guidance but I doubt there is any blanket policy for A-roads, given many of them are relatively quiet rural backwaters where a driveway isn't going to be a problem.

As above, if parking is already a problem then adding a new driveway is only going to make matters worse if you're eliminating a potential space on the road.

Louviolet11

ciderboy2009 said:

Assuming that I'm looking at the right house you're going to really struggle to get permission there - it's a very busy road (one of the main routes out of Bristol towards the South) and you would be removing one of the layby parking spaces to give yourself access (the fact that it's a disabled space doesn't help).

I'm not even sure how you would put a parking space in the front garden there as it looks like it's a fair bit below the road level

Ah I thought that may be the case. It's not quite as steep as it appears in person and we thought we could level it out by building it up with some proper drainage also installed. It's just odd that other houses have been granted it

ciderboy2009

It's not clear from the satellite views but does it have access to the rear (it looks like it might).

It would mean losing a bit of the garden but would probably be a safer place to park (particularly when City are playing at home).

Louviolet11

user1977 said:

Others may be able to point to more specific guidance but I doubt there is any blanket policy for A-roads, given many of them are relatively quiet rural backwaters where a driveway isn't going to be a problem.

As above, if parking is already a problem then adding a new driveway is only going to make matters worse if you're eliminating a potential space on the road.

Interesting. I did see it cited as a problem but surely putting in the driveway (i.e creating 2 potential parking spots) serves the road better as it only removes one spot but takes two off the road?

Louviolet11

ciderboy2009 said:

It's not clear from the satellite views but does it have access to the rear (it looks like it might).

It would mean losing a bit of the garden but would probably be a safer place to park (particularly when City are playing at home).

Yes I have had a look into that We're trying to figure out who that access belongs to as it's not the council so a bit unsure, going to have a chat with the business down the road as I think it might belong to them 

user1977

Louviolet11 said:

user1977 said:

Others may be able to point to more specific guidance but I doubt there is any blanket policy for A-roads, given many of them are relatively quiet rural backwaters where a driveway isn't going to be a problem.

As above, if parking is already a problem then adding a new driveway is only going to make matters worse if you're eliminating a potential space on the road.

Interesting. I did see it cited as a problem but surely putting in the driveway (i.e creating 2 potential parking spots) serves the road better as it only removes one spot but takes two off the road?

But two spots which (for all the planners know) may be lying empty all day? Or not even used at all?

Louviolet11

user1977 said:

Louviolet11 said:

user1977 said:

Others may be able to point to more specific guidance but I doubt there is any blanket policy for A-roads, given many of them are relatively quiet rural backwaters where a driveway isn't going to be a problem.

As above, if parking is already a problem then adding a new driveway is only going to make matters worse if you're eliminating a potential space on the road.

Interesting. I did see it cited as a problem but surely putting in the driveway (i.e creating 2 potential parking spots) serves the road better as it only removes one spot but takes two off the road?

But two spots which (for all the planners know) may be lying empty all day? Or not even used at all?

Lol, thats a fair point. Ah, seems like it may be more difficult than it's worth,. Thanks anyways!