Help - Council Trying To Stop Me Parking My Cars On My Drive

[baSkey]

it's very sporting of you to post the picture.

i'd say you had 3 vehicles too many for it too 'look right'. but as i said before it's your choice!

whilst i am in agreement about the council..it might be a good opportunity to prune the collection. do you need 3 mx5s? a corrado AND a prelude and two p100s (why not get an l200 tax dodger Animal like evry other self employed person..?!)

they'd have preferred the trees had stayed no doubt!

Edited by baSkey on Thursday 3rd August 15:34

[redgriff500]

Well I want to sell the std MX5 and the Lude and the VR6 and get a 535 but if I tell the council that they'll say I'm trading from home !

Animals etc no good for real builders... sheet size is 8ft x 4ft and my 2.8 4x4 P100 is FUN !!!

I'll admit it's not fantastic but it is work in progress... can't build the front wall until I get planning for a house on the side.

Edited by redgriff500 on Thursday 3rd August 15:40

[alfaman]

baSkey said:

they'd have preferred the trees had stayed no doubt!

Edited by baSkey on Thursday 3rd August 15:34

those look like Cyprus Leylandi to me .....which start off as a hedge and end up as 60 foot monsters in about 5 years if left untrimmed (I had about 14 in my rear garden ) ....most Councils like them cut down as they block so much light.

[jasandjules]

Looks a little like the front P100 is slightly encroaching on the path there.. Can that be moved back up a tad?

It does to me look like (without knowing, if you just drove past) some sort of car traders house though. But, as I said, not their business.

Just simply ask them under what law etc.. and then see what, if anything, they come back with..AND, mention the DPA breach by them asking, and if you are feeling a**y, ask them for the name of their DPA officer, and a copy of his authorisation for them to ask for this information to which they are not entitled..

Keep it short and simple and tell them little, just enough to let them know you believe you are within your rights to do as you please. You do also have a right to a peaceful enjoyment of your property, which at this point they are attempting to breach.

[pdV6]

Having seen the pics, I can understand why the neighbours might be a little upset, but you state that they're ok with it. All the vehicles look clean and tidy so I can't see what legal basis anyone might have for objecting to them being there.

Is there any scope for getting them out of sight around the back, e.g. stuff the P100s alongside the Sprinter and maybe knock through the back wall of the garage so as to be able to park the little 'uns out of sight?

[redgriff500]

The P100 is on the drive, I leave it tight there so it's hard to sneak around the side of it, as I have had kids try to steal a P100 and graffetti on my van.

I did park them further back and they complained I was parking cars in my garden.

I did point out you don't need planning to extend your drive...

I'd put a temporary fence up but they object to that to...

anyone who doesn't work 9-5 and get their car serviced by a dealer etc is considered a problem...

until they need someone like me to catch a burglar, fix their car or advise on their house.

[eccles]

it does rather look like you are just parking cars in your front garden, and not just on your drive.
IMHO it would look a lot neater if you block paved the area (or got a pikey tarmac gang in), and parked the cars neatly.

having said that, i totally sypathise with your plight.

[pmanson]

What wheels are they on the MX5 parked by the VR6? Like the look.

[thanuk]

redgriff500 said:

I did park them further back and they complained I was parking cars in my garden.

I did point out you don't need planning to extend your drive...

I'd put a temporary fence up but they object to that to...

anyone who doesn't work 9-5 and get their car serviced by a dealer etc is considered a problem...

Who's doing the complaining here? I thought you said the neighbours were OK, this post makes it sound like they're not so OK after all.

[redgriff500]

My immediate (3 over the road, 3 to the left of me) are fine and we have a chat regularly.

I don't know the others and the council refuse to say who, or how many are complaining... but most of the area was happy to have free slabs and logs when I was giving them away.

But it is an 'old biddy' area and they don't like change - been told this by the police and council.

Just wait 'til I put in the planning for my new house... I expect petitions and everything !

[redgriff500]

pmanson said:

What wheels are they on the MX5 parked by the VR6? Like the look.

They are 16" SSR Type V, Very light, semi forged alloys, cost £250+ each, I don't like the look of them so open to offers !

[redgriff500]

I guess we've covered this all now, so unless someone else has some cracking advice I suggest we get back to talking about cars in the other threads.

Thanks

[Parrot of Doom]

I'd stick one car in the garage, and squeeze another couple of cars down the back of the house. I'd also consider putting a driveway gate somewhere down the side of the house and cleaning up the grass a little. I doubt anyone would complain then.

[headcase]

It seems to me that you love your cars, but why so many? You obviously cant use them all at once, Why not get rid of the many and get yourself a good Sports piped Cerb, now that will give them something to complain about! Where I live, there is a 'No commercial vehicle' clause, now it was an issue when I moved in because I have a 54 Renult Traffic parked on the driveway, until they all discovered how usefull I am, funnly enough the problem has seem to have dissapeared.

[4WD]

We live down a very tidy street and have been here since new, over ten years now. Everyone has two cars, on their two car driveway.

Last year a builder type moved in along the road. He paved over his front lawn and put four vehicles outside. Fair enough, they are on his property but it is out of keeping. One is a huge transit van, with a large estate for his work gear, plus two normal cars. As the grass has gone it means viewed next to his neigbours, there are six vehicles parked in a row. It looks like a carpark, not a residential garden. I wouldn't complain, but it's not ideal! Any further bright ideas like this from new owners moving in to our road and it'll start affecting the view and hence prices. It doesn't take many to ruin an area.

Sometimes it might be an idea to bear other's in mind.

Edited by 4WD on Thursday 3rd August 19:56

[redgriff500]

4WD said:

Sometimes it might be an idea to bear other's in mind.

I have gone out of my way to do that... look at the pics, I took a vacant house surrounded by 45+ ft laylandi and spent a fortune to make it nice, admittedly I haven't finished the front but I can't due to the council planners (being difficult with my new application)

I have made various suggestions and would just like to be left alone...

I like looking at cars... others don't...

I don't like kids, old people, fat people... but hey I have to put up with them... I don't think I'm asking too much for them to put up with me.

Oh and I had a TVR... hence the name... but I couldn't put up with the constant breakdowns, so I sold it and kept the MX5's, not quite as quick, but very reliable. Turbo's making around 240bhp.

[Xaero]

I wish I had a fleet and house like that!
I can see the point of the complaints, it doesn't look in keeping, but if you got that planning permission you could well make it look a lot neater, maybe worth mentioning to the council as it could potentially cause the complaint to be retracted.

[raceface]

Should have kept the leylandi; no-one would see your cars then!

How about some camoflage netting from an army surples store?

Could you get an MX5 onto the spare pick-up?

Seriously though, hope you get it resolved. Not nice having the quiet enjoyment of your home infringed.

[king herald]

Yep, it looks a bit messy for a high dollar area. As you say there's building work needs finishing in the front, and a metre tall wall will hide the MX5s and make it all look a lot better.
I bet you wish you'd kept the trees, as you could have done what the hell you liked behind them

[J111]

redgriff500 said:

I believe that your letter may contravene the Data Protection Act and also Article 1 of the Human Rights Act, please confirm that it doesn't.

It doesn't contravene the HRA. The law is firmly on their side:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/de

There may be a DPA issue over the request for mortgage details, that does seem odd. Probably worth a chat with a solicitor.

redgriff500 said:

I am unaware of any law that restricts the number of vehicles an individual is entitled to own or park upon his own property, but if such legislation exists, please forward me the relevant details.

They're citing the requirement for planning permission from change of use to car storage.

redgriff500 said:

You mention ‘Car Storage’ how does this differ from ‘Car Parking’ please supply a legal definition.

Car parks are commercial ventures. Car storage may be any area where cars are stored, commercially or otherwise.

redgriff500 said:

I am still unaware that this is illegal.

It's, they're arguing, a breach of planning requirements.

redgriff500 said:

I have 2 P100 pick ups and a Mercedes Sprinter van which I use in the course of my employment as a self employed property developer, but I also use them to move my Jetskis and trail bikes so they are used for both business and personal use.

Tread very carefully with this one. Many properties are covenanted against the use of driveways for commercial vehicles. Contrary to what was stated above, any interested party can endeavour to enforce a covenant, it is not solely in the hands of the initial developer.

redgriff500 said:

In conclusion should there be any requirement to limit the number of vehicles I can park on my drive, I would have no alternative than to park them in the road, which I would be loathe to do as that would inconveinience my neighbours, increase the risk of road accidents and increase the risk of theft / damage to my vehicles.

You can't park a vehicle under a SORN on the road.

Since you are seeking planning permission, I strongly suggest a conciliatory approach. Happiness does not lie in pissing off the local planners if you're ever planning to put in an application or have one in the works.

I'm not a planner. I'm in business with one and we've made numerous applications over the past few years. Softly softly catchee monkey every time. (I'm a little surprised that, as a builder, you've got into this mess. Is there backstory ? Previous run ins with planning enforcement ?)

Edited by J111 on Friday 4th August 00:16