Shared Access Driveway Parking Issue
Discussion
Hi
This is probably a fairly common and run of the mill query for you chaps! I bought a house on a new development last month which is the corner plot (first mistake) of a loop off a main street. That loop is classified as a "Shared Access Driveway" as it services 8 driveways for houses round the loops. All 4 bed+ with 2 car driveways and at least a 1 car garage for each house. The loop is also not a full 2 lanes wide, one of those only just fit 2 cars side by side with wing mirrors nearly touching roads.
The issue we have is, people are using the Shared Driveway to park their work vans (house with 2 cars on driveway and van out front) or for their visitors to park on and the cars are being left there all day/night. I can squeeze past only just but there's been several occasions in the 3 weeks we've been here where someone has parked in such a way that my girlfriend can't get her Abarth on or off our own drive onto the loop as there's no space to get reversed in or out round a parked car. Due to the shape of our driveway, we either have to reverse on or reverse off, there's no space to turn on the drive. The bin lorry can't get to us and delivery vans drive over the landscaping to get round the parked cars so trashing the brand new landscaping.
There's is demarked and allocated visitors bays on the plan map and plenty of parking on the main street where it's a full sized road so I don't see there's much of an argument, it's just the usual laziness by people not wanting to walk 50 yards.
I can see this is all going to come to a head on Friday as I'm getting my MR2 delivered from storage and it's a non runner so I need to get the truck to my garage and roll it in. So I'm going to have to knock on every neighbours house to try and find who owns the cars and get them to move. Pretty annoyed at having to ask my neighbours permission to get in and out of my house.
I have a copy of the Deeds of Condition but that seems to just outline the financial burdens such as shared ownership and repair obligations for the shared access Driveway, pumping stations, landscaping etc. The ownership of the shared access driveway is 1/270th (entire estate holds shared ownership over the entire estate basically) in this document.
I think my solictor has a copy of another document we went over when signing everything which outlines the colour of doors, open plan front garden rules and I'm sure a no parking clause for the shared driveway. However my solicitor is on holiday for another week so can neither confirm or deny that before Friday.
My question is; is the fact the shared access driveway is named as such (access being key in my head) and is also 1/270th shared, mean that there should be no parking on the shared access as it's for just that, access? Id' like to be able to take the delivery truck "you need to move your van" as the opportunity to address the issue with the main culprits. Loading/unloading within reason of course, we're not trying to be domineering in the street, there's a big difference between a DPD drop and your entire extended family coming round for the day/overnight. We just to be clear on what the rules are and if everyone follows the rules we all get along. We've been asking our visitors to park in the bays or moving our cars to a bay so that a joiner etc. can park on our drive and we're getting rather annoyed having to squeeze through tiny gaps and risk our wheels or ask neighbours permission to get in and out the street. The other side of the loop has no issues, we seem to have just drawn a rough hand and got 2 self absorbed throbbers either side of us.
Apart from this we love the house though and it's why I want to find the best way to nip things in the bud before "we always do that" sets in with people. Everyone on the loop has moved in in the last 3 months and they should have gone over these conditions when signing, I think the opportunity to set the tone is now both in the rules and how I approach it.
Plan maps can be supplied if it helps, thanks for any advice you can offer on the issue or how to approach it
This is probably a fairly common and run of the mill query for you chaps! I bought a house on a new development last month which is the corner plot (first mistake) of a loop off a main street. That loop is classified as a "Shared Access Driveway" as it services 8 driveways for houses round the loops. All 4 bed+ with 2 car driveways and at least a 1 car garage for each house. The loop is also not a full 2 lanes wide, one of those only just fit 2 cars side by side with wing mirrors nearly touching roads.
The issue we have is, people are using the Shared Driveway to park their work vans (house with 2 cars on driveway and van out front) or for their visitors to park on and the cars are being left there all day/night. I can squeeze past only just but there's been several occasions in the 3 weeks we've been here where someone has parked in such a way that my girlfriend can't get her Abarth on or off our own drive onto the loop as there's no space to get reversed in or out round a parked car. Due to the shape of our driveway, we either have to reverse on or reverse off, there's no space to turn on the drive. The bin lorry can't get to us and delivery vans drive over the landscaping to get round the parked cars so trashing the brand new landscaping.
There's is demarked and allocated visitors bays on the plan map and plenty of parking on the main street where it's a full sized road so I don't see there's much of an argument, it's just the usual laziness by people not wanting to walk 50 yards.
I can see this is all going to come to a head on Friday as I'm getting my MR2 delivered from storage and it's a non runner so I need to get the truck to my garage and roll it in. So I'm going to have to knock on every neighbours house to try and find who owns the cars and get them to move. Pretty annoyed at having to ask my neighbours permission to get in and out of my house.
I have a copy of the Deeds of Condition but that seems to just outline the financial burdens such as shared ownership and repair obligations for the shared access Driveway, pumping stations, landscaping etc. The ownership of the shared access driveway is 1/270th (entire estate holds shared ownership over the entire estate basically) in this document.
I think my solictor has a copy of another document we went over when signing everything which outlines the colour of doors, open plan front garden rules and I'm sure a no parking clause for the shared driveway. However my solicitor is on holiday for another week so can neither confirm or deny that before Friday.
My question is; is the fact the shared access driveway is named as such (access being key in my head) and is also 1/270th shared, mean that there should be no parking on the shared access as it's for just that, access? Id' like to be able to take the delivery truck "you need to move your van" as the opportunity to address the issue with the main culprits. Loading/unloading within reason of course, we're not trying to be domineering in the street, there's a big difference between a DPD drop and your entire extended family coming round for the day/overnight. We just to be clear on what the rules are and if everyone follows the rules we all get along. We've been asking our visitors to park in the bays or moving our cars to a bay so that a joiner etc. can park on our drive and we're getting rather annoyed having to squeeze through tiny gaps and risk our wheels or ask neighbours permission to get in and out the street. The other side of the loop has no issues, we seem to have just drawn a rough hand and got 2 self absorbed throbbers either side of us.
Apart from this we love the house though and it's why I want to find the best way to nip things in the bud before "we always do that" sets in with people. Everyone on the loop has moved in in the last 3 months and they should have gone over these conditions when signing, I think the opportunity to set the tone is now both in the rules and how I approach it.
Plan maps can be supplied if it helps, thanks for any advice you can offer on the issue or how to approach it
Options may be different in Scotland...
I don't think this is what you will want to hear, but I guess there isn't going to be much you can do about it.
If the developers have sold all the houses, then I doubt they will be interested.
People are selfish - they will do what they like, I doubt they will suddenly change their parking if you point out they are in the way.
You could try asking very nicely if people would move their vehicles so you can get in when needed (to which I guess most people will agree) - then start needing access at 02:00 in the morning - and asking very nicely, as agreed. They might get fedup with that and park elsewhere.
I don't think this is what you will want to hear, but I guess there isn't going to be much you can do about it.
If the developers have sold all the houses, then I doubt they will be interested.
People are selfish - they will do what they like, I doubt they will suddenly change their parking if you point out they are in the way.
You could try asking very nicely if people would move their vehicles so you can get in when needed (to which I guess most people will agree) - then start needing access at 02:00 in the morning - and asking very nicely, as agreed. They might get fedup with that and park elsewhere.
Edited by No ideas for a name on Wednesday 7th April 12:09
Sounds like you need to wait for your solicitor to come back from holiday so you can have a look at this other document and see if there are in fact any parking restrictions. Then put some notices through all the letterboxes on the shared drive as a reminder there's no parking if that is indeed the case.
Not a fun experience though. I've specifically dismissed houses due to awkward drive exit/entrance angles stemming from people parking near/opposite inconsiderately after having to deal with it once before. If it's a no parking drive, you need to enforce it ASAP.
Not a fun experience though. I've specifically dismissed houses due to awkward drive exit/entrance angles stemming from people parking near/opposite inconsiderately after having to deal with it once before. If it's a no parking drive, you need to enforce it ASAP.
I don't believe their is a genuine long term solution for your problem, absent all 8 properties agreeing to extend the width of the access road.
Even if you get all properties onside with their parking you'll still have the issue with visitors and the like.
You would be best served taking a course in anger management and seeing if you can improve the parking on your own land.
Even if you get all properties onside with their parking you'll still have the issue with visitors and the like.
You would be best served taking a course in anger management and seeing if you can improve the parking on your own land.
We have a similar situation, but not as bad by the sounds of it.
After much searching (and a neighbour paid for legal advice as well) there is supposed to be no parking in the "access" bits, but loading/unloading is ok.
But as it's private land, it's very hard to enforce. We get a lot of parkers. The police don't want to know. The local authority don't want to know about anything after you've driven off the public road (and the demarcation of that is obvious, i.e. public tarmac road onto something else).
Essential point, though, is that there should be a demarcation between the "shared access" driveway (where you can't park) and the "private" driveway (where you can). In our case it's a line of bricks and a different surface.
After much searching (and a neighbour paid for legal advice as well) there is supposed to be no parking in the "access" bits, but loading/unloading is ok.
But as it's private land, it's very hard to enforce. We get a lot of parkers. The police don't want to know. The local authority don't want to know about anything after you've driven off the public road (and the demarcation of that is obvious, i.e. public tarmac road onto something else).
Essential point, though, is that there should be a demarcation between the "shared access" driveway (where you can't park) and the "private" driveway (where you can). In our case it's a line of bricks and a different surface.
Thanks for the replies everyone, must admit I'm leaning more to vindictive responses.
I've found the title deeds, I knew I had it in an email, turns out it had the old address as the email chain subject. I believe section 3.1.1 is the relevant piece here:
The wording here, am I correct to draw from the "access and egress is all time coming" shoots down the I'll just let you out nonsense?
Spoke to the direct neighbour an hour ago when he came round to get a package and had a chat about the shared space, both the 50/50 drive and the access road. He seemed to understand, then I went to go to screwfix there ans find this:
The street is pretty much bob on what m4cruiser noted, tarmac cente road, the dark monoblock is the access loop and the split on our 50/50 drive is marked by the dark lines. The shared driveway with next door is a 50/50 ownership, not one of these split down the middle ones. So after asking him to try to be reasonable, he does that
.
So we both need to go out now, I can get past once the gf leaves and I think I'm just going to leave my car at the top of the shared drive and block the whole thing since I'll not get parked again. That may drive the message home in the morning when his wife wants to go to work.
The other neighbours, if section 3.1.1 above is pretty open and shut, I think I'm going to go down the nice letter through everyones door route asking everyone to have some respect for their neighbours and if we all stick to the rules outlined in the deeds, we'll all get along. Weigh it down with "I came in the street a few days ago and nearly hit someone's child as I couldn't see them on their bike past all the parked cars". I have limited social energy and I'd rather not become "that guy". I bought the corner plot because I'd like to just like to be left alone
.
Edit: better view of the assault course. My BMW nose can be seen bottom left
I've found the title deeds, I knew I had it in an email, turns out it had the old address as the email chain subject. I believe section 3.1.1 is the relevant piece here:
The wording here, am I correct to draw from the "access and egress is all time coming" shoots down the I'll just let you out nonsense?
Spoke to the direct neighbour an hour ago when he came round to get a package and had a chat about the shared space, both the 50/50 drive and the access road. He seemed to understand, then I went to go to screwfix there ans find this:
The street is pretty much bob on what m4cruiser noted, tarmac cente road, the dark monoblock is the access loop and the split on our 50/50 drive is marked by the dark lines. The shared driveway with next door is a 50/50 ownership, not one of these split down the middle ones. So after asking him to try to be reasonable, he does that
. So we both need to go out now, I can get past once the gf leaves and I think I'm just going to leave my car at the top of the shared drive and block the whole thing since I'll not get parked again. That may drive the message home in the morning when his wife wants to go to work.
The other neighbours, if section 3.1.1 above is pretty open and shut, I think I'm going to go down the nice letter through everyones door route asking everyone to have some respect for their neighbours and if we all stick to the rules outlined in the deeds, we'll all get along. Weigh it down with "I came in the street a few days ago and nearly hit someone's child as I couldn't see them on their bike past all the parked cars". I have limited social energy and I'd rather not become "that guy". I bought the corner plot because I'd like to just like to be left alone
.Edit: better view of the assault course. My BMW nose can be seen bottom left
Edited by SW20phile on Wednesday 7th April 18:13
Ian Geary said:
Ps lots of space in the middle of the green (brown) for extra parking spaces....
Thinking about it a bit more you could try putting some matting down on the central area and start parking a car on there.That will probably get the neighbours up in arms but at least they will engage with the issue.
JeffreyD said:
Why don't you all get together to make a few extra spaces on that space in the middle?
Got to be worth a try before you all fall out, which is what will happen once you start tit for tat blocking.
This seems like a good idea, I wonder if the deeds allow it?Got to be worth a try before you all fall out, which is what will happen once you start tit for tat blocking.
You'd have to get everyone to agree and split the cost, that bit seems unlikely ...
M4cruiser said:
This seems like a good idea, I wonder if the deeds allow it?
You'd have to get everyone to agree and split the cost, that bit seems unlikely ...
It won't be allowed but maybe if the OP starts then the residents may get together to find a solution.You'd have to get everyone to agree and split the cost, that bit seems unlikely ...
Like most people they'll only give a s
t when it starts affecting them.I feel for you OP.
People, in general are thoughtless selfish aholes.
My neighbours park directly opposite my drive making it difficult for me to pull off, they leave their own drive empty 90% of the time. Ridiculous.
When I moved in, 14 years ago, one of the first jobs was to pull up the front garden and turn it into a drive which can accommodate both my cars and work van because its the right thing to do if you have this number of vehicles.
I was pleased at the time my adjacent neighbour followed my lead and even employed the same contractor that did mine.
People, in general are thoughtless selfish a
holes.My neighbours park directly opposite my drive making it difficult for me to pull off, they leave their own drive empty 90% of the time. Ridiculous.
When I moved in, 14 years ago, one of the first jobs was to pull up the front garden and turn it into a drive which can accommodate both my cars and work van because its the right thing to do if you have this number of vehicles.
I was pleased at the time my adjacent neighbour followed my lead and even employed the same contractor that did mine.
Edited by Lincsls1 on Wednesday 7th April 21:29
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