Driveway dilema!!!

[mancmo]

Arrrghh!!! I could just scream!!!

I live in a row of mid terrace houses with a large garden at the front...my neighbours are constantly parking outside my house making me parking around the corner, therefore me not being able to see my car (I dont live on a most desirable street)!! I want to know my car is safe.

Ive just come home now and again, cant park outside, my next door neighbour is parked there and her fella is parked outside her house, I dont want to knock on at hers and ask her to move as she has a right to park there, but its driving me nuts!

my next door but one neighbour has made a driveway out of her garden but didnt contact the council so hasnt got the pavement dropped, i asked her about this a few months back and it only cost her £350 to drop the garden slightly and put gates up.

im seriously thinking of doing this myself but want to do things by the book, but, if i just do the driveway myself, could the council come back at me? i dont want to get my neighbour in trouble either!!!

please can someone advise me...its seriously peeing me off now, seems trivial, but im sick of my selfish neighbours!!

Cheers!! xxx

[woofgang]

You needn't mention your neighbour at all, just ask the council on your behalf. What having your garden paved over may not do is stop people parking in the road and blocking your access.

[buildersmate]

You can do the driveway mods yourself but you will have to pay the council a fee to permit the authorisation and completion of the dropped kerb aspect. This then gives you certain rights to the space in front of the dropped kerb area - but not necessarily exclusive rights.

[hc4361]

If you don't get the kerb dropped you will be committing an offence each time you drive on or off your driveway as it is an offence to drive on the pavement.
http://www.direct.gov...dLighting/DG_10026223

[The Builder]

Just one more "official" consideration Mancmo ....... you'll possibly need planning consent as well. It's just a technical thing involving surfacewater run off. With a conventional garden, rainwater soaks away on your ground. With a new hard surface, it has to run somewhere.

Have a look at this, and click on the graphic "paving your garden"

http://www.planningpo...uk/permission/terrace

[bushbaby_de]

To add to The Builder's answer, if your road is classified (A, B or C) you will also need planning permission for the new access, even if you use permeable paving.

As others have pointed out, you have to pay the Council to legally instal a dropped kerb, and you can pay extra to have hatchings/lines painted across it, but this does not legally prevent anyone parking across the end of your driveway (unless it is a residents parking area and you can persuade them to put double yellow lines down).

[maclarencat]

I always thought it was illegal to block someone in on a drive am I wrong?

[bushbaby_de]

If there is already a car on the drive it is illegal to block them in but if the drive is empty you can't actually stop people parking over the end of your drive unless there are double yellow lines.

[maclarencat]

Thanks Bushbaby

[bushbaby_de]

yqw

[Wak]

If anyone parks across your driveway just sit in your car and blow the horn until they come and move their car. You won't have to do it very often as they soon get the message. I think you have a perfect right to have access to your own property.
My neighbour had the drop-down kerb and the white line supplied by the Council and they told him that the Police will only get involved providing you have the Council-supplied white line. Cost of white line about £53 if I remember correctly!
I'd be inclined to check with the local Council as they are inclined to differ from area to area.

[cassa333]

Does anyone park outside the neighbour who uses her garden as parking but doesn't have the dropped curb?

If they give her 'driveway' a wide berth then you could do the dame to start with to see if they still park over yours.

Although as has been pointed out you would be driving over the pavement which you aren't allowed to do.

A lot of coumcils won't let you do the work to drop the curb yourself as it has to be done to a spacific standard. That's when they charge you the earth...

[deninbtn]

You don't have the right to park outside your house, but is an offence to park alongside a dropped kerb at the end of a drive. I know this is true, cos 2 weeks ago I nearly got a ticket for double parking next to a car parked at my dropped curb. I pointed out to the traffic warden that I had to double park my car to load it up from my garage (I was in my garage at the time). The traffic warden gave the other car a ticket instead and was ringing up the tow truck when the car owner appeared. The car owner was arguing that I didn't have a white line and in any case I didn't park my car in the drive or the garage. He was told quite categorically that it was an offence to park alongside a dropped curb and his car would have been towed and he would have had to pay over £100 to get it back!
If you live in Brighton I can give you the number of the traffic warden office. they work until 7pm and will ticket/move a car up until that time.