Can I build a drive on my property if my front garden is on a private road?

GDB2222

martindow said:

Albermarle said:

Martin_the_Unjust said:

If it was me I’d be inviting the owners of the road round for tea and cake and then ask them if they would have any issues re you having a drive?

Plus it is a good time of year to introduce yourself/get to know your neighbours. You can take them some mince pies.

And possibly some mistletoe if you think they might turn out to be really friendly ...

Why stop at mistletoe? Go the whole hog, and get pampas grass. 

SarahB16

stay143 said:

I own my home that is a semi-detached house that faces a private road.

As there is a private road then the residents must pay for the maintenance of this road.  Do you have a residents' management company?  Are all the residents equal members or is there a management committee?

If you do have a residents' management company try speaking to some of the key people who oversee the running of it and discuss with them what you would like to do and see what they say.    

Section62

SarahB16 said:

stay143 said:

I own my home that is a semi-detached house that faces a private road.

As there is a private road then the residents must pay for the maintenance of this road.  Do you have a residents' management company?  Are all the residents equal members or is there a management committee?

If you do have a residents' management company try speaking to some of the key people who oversee the running of it and discuss with them what you would like to do and see what they say.    

Not always.  There are different types of private road and whether anyone is responsible for maintenance and who pays will depend on the specific circumstances.

From what the OP describes in their first post it doesn't sound like there is a management company involved, and a discussion with the people who seem responsible may well result in a response containing multiple four-letter words.

SarahB16

Section62 said:

SarahB16 said:

stay143 said:

I own my home that is a semi-detached house that faces a private road.

As there is a private road then the residents must pay for the maintenance of this road.  Do you have a residents' management company?  Are all the residents equal members or is there a management committee?

If you do have a residents' management company try speaking to some of the key people who oversee the running of it and discuss with them what you would like to do and see what they say.    

Not always.  There are different types of private road and whether anyone is responsible for maintenance and who pays will depend on the specific circumstances.

From what the OP describes in their first post it doesn't sound like there is a management company involved, and a discussion with the people who seem responsible may well result in a response containing multiple four-letter words.

If the council hasn't adopted the road and the residents don't pay for its upkeep (via annual service charges for repairs or into a sinking fund) or simply paying invoices as and when work is required who do you think will pay when work is required if it isn't the residents?   

It has always been my understanding that if a road is adopted the council will maintain it.  If the road is unadopted the council won't maintain it and unless you wish to neglect the upkeep of the road then it is the responsibility of the residents or a management company (with the residents paying the management company). 

I'm genuinely interested to hear from you as to who else you think would pay for the repairs if it's not the council or the residents? 

Dustyevsky

SarahB16 said:

Section62 said:

SarahB16 said:

stay143 said:

I own my home that is a semi-detached house that faces a private road.

As there is a private road then the residents must pay for the maintenance of this road.  Do you have a residents' management company?  Are all the residents equal members or is there a management committee?

If you do have a residents' management company try speaking to some of the key people who oversee the running of it and discuss with them what you would like to do and see what they say.    

Not always.  There are different types of private road and whether anyone is responsible for maintenance and who pays will depend on the specific circumstances.

From what the OP describes in their first post it doesn't sound like there is a management company involved, and a discussion with the people who seem responsible may well result in a response containing multiple four-letter words.

If the council hasn't adopted the road and the residents don't pay for its upkeep (via annual service charges for repairs or into a sinking fund) or simply paying invoices as and when work is required who do you think will pay when work is required if it isn't the residents?   

It has always been my understanding that if a road is adopted the council will maintain it.  If the road is unadopted the council won't maintain it and unless you wish to neglect the upkeep of the road then it is the responsibility of the residents or a management company (with the residents paying the management company). 

I'm genuinely interested to hear from you as to who else you think would pay for the repairs if it's not the council or the residents? 

Section 62 is correct. I have access from a private road, as do numerous others. Thanks to the vagaries of history, most people pay for upkeep, while a few others don't. I am in the 'lucky' group. Of course, there is nothing preventing me from contributing to repairs.

Section62

SarahB16 said:

Section62 said:

SarahB16 said:

stay143 said:

I own my home that is a semi-detached house that faces a private road.

As there is a private road then the residents must pay for the maintenance of this road.  Do you have a residents' management company?  Are all the residents equal members or is there a management committee?

If you do have a residents' management company try speaking to some of the key people who oversee the running of it and discuss with them what you would like to do and see what they say.    

Not always.  There are different types of private road and whether anyone is responsible for maintenance and who pays will depend on the specific circumstances.

From what the OP describes in their first post it doesn't sound like there is a management company involved, and a discussion with the people who seem responsible may well result in a response containing multiple four-letter words.

If the council hasn't adopted the road and the residents don't pay for its upkeep (via annual service charges for repairs or into a sinking fund) or simply paying invoices as and when work is required who do you think will pay when work is required if it isn't the residents?   

It has always been my understanding that if a road is adopted the council will maintain it.  If the road is unadopted the council won't maintain it and unless you wish to neglect the upkeep of the road then it is the responsibility of the residents or a management company (with the residents paying the management company). 

I'm genuinely interested to hear from you as to who else you think would pay for the repairs if it's not the council or the residents? 

The crux of the issue is about "responsibility".  Unless you are made to pay for maintenance of a road - for example by a covenant - then you don't have to.  This is why some people on Dustyevsky's road pay, and others don't.

Furthermore, there is no general obligation to maintain a private road that you have a right to use (but don't own).  So one of the answers to the question "Who pays?" could be "Nobody".  There are many cases where the residents don't pay for the maintenance of the private road they use, but one or the other of them may occasionally throw some type 1 or cold-mix into any potholes that appear from time to time.

The 'council paying' also needs some disaggregation.  If the road is maintainable at public expense (which includes those that have been adopted as highway) then the highway authority are liable to maintain the road (commensurate with use) at the expense of the taxpayer.  However, local authorities that provide housing will also have some private roads on their housing estates which are maintained by the council (often by the highways department) which are paid for by the council but not as highways maintainable at public expense.  There will be other cases where the council is maintaining a private road and absorbing (some of) the costs - for example a private road may have a public right of way (footpath) along it and in the absence of an owner to maintain the road the council may carry out such repairs as necessary to comply with its duties to those using the public footpath.

As I said, the specific circumstances in each case will determine who - if anyone - is responsible for the maintenance of a private road, and who gets to pay for it.

stay143

Section62 said:

doodling said:

...
If you have a right of way from the public highway, along the private road to your property (and I mean to your property, not for example, to a verge that you do not own outside your property) then there is nothing stopping you from creating an access to that private road.  You may need planning permission depending on exactly what you are doing.
...

That depends on the terms the right of access has been granted on.  If they are very specific the landowner might be able to argue that access to a new area of parking is not allowed.  This may be a real possibility, bearing in mind the "tension" and "mild threat" the OP mentions.

Before spending money on anything else I'd want legal advice on exactly what the rights are (if any).

Thanks everyone for commenting! I keep trying to get information from my council but they are proving rather useless.

The best action would of course be to speak to the two houses that I believe 'own' the private road, but as mentioned in my original post tensions have been high since the minor car crash that I worry for an outright 'no' but in stronger terms. It's hard because the parking area that is for supposedly for our line of homes keeps getting used by people not from the homes (plus the added cars from my direct neighbour now not using their driveway) and leaving the home now comes with a risk of being unable to park - something that rightly or wrongly, stresses me out.

I think the only next step would be talking to my neighbours and understanding the situation better as I would not want to spend any money without my rights/the rules being understood