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Cement in nails on the boundary (sorry, just a thought that made me smile)
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Thanks, Smokie BTW, now I know I will try to forget...if I say it too many times might believe it.
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The BEST thing to do is to speak to your neighbour. Don't bother feigning illness etc. It is not unreasonable to request that he does not park on your drive. Keep it polite. If you ask him once you may possibly have to remind him a second time. If you have to remind him more than once, you *may* like to consider some of the other suggestions, but these types of things can easily escalate into disputes and bad feeling.
Of the suggestionsmade thus far, I would say park your car first and park it right up to (but not over) the boundary. If you park over the boundary you are saying that it's okay in the rules that you have now decided upon, so he will feel free to do so again with you. After that, you may like to consider a clear boundary marking, such as a white line.
Before you go off and plan your military campaign and start devising end games for your 'what if' scenarios, TALK NICELY TO YOUR NEIGHBOUR. It's amazing how many disputes are caused by lack of communication, and it does not have to go to far before it becomes a simple grudge match (usually thinly disguised as 'a matter of principal', etc). The police have a leaflet on disputes between neighbours which basically says 'talk to each other'. If called in, they will invariably say that to both parties, but by so doing may actually focus the mind of those concerned on the point at issue (ie. warn them off).
'Yoofs' in Peugeot 106's have taken to parking in my parking space because the on street parking is getting full. My master plan is just to bore them to death with endless polite requests that they do not do so and ever so polite little notes under their wipers. It has actually worked so far and incidents have decreased. Plan B is box them in with assorted family vehicles and leave note on car to say call at No X to request that we let your car go! It hasn't come to that yet. People who park in other half's driveway because the flats they are visiting simply have no parking at all, unsually respond to requests to not do so with 'well, where am I supposed to park?'. He is installing a private parking sign and looking into the price of a wheel clamp! (I think he should farm it out to cowboy clampers for maximum effect! - mind you, may end up with me getting clamped when I am round there!).
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Of course I agree with FFX-DM joking aside. Perhaps you can take this opportunity to invest in an ornamental low wall, make the SWMBO (my new phrase, thanks Smokie) happy no doubt.
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try post and rail cheaper than a wall and just as effective
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Before building any tangible boundaries it may be a good idea to check the deeds to find out whose responsibility the boundary is. If yours, go ahead and build (but declare your intention first) - if his, maybe tread a bit more cautiously. Incremental hostilities sometimes get out of hand until there is no way back before someone moves out.
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As we said earlier...a quiet word
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Out of interest, when you say "my" parking space do you actually have one allocated to your property and your property alone ?
I have had a similar incident recently where someone has parked outside my house (despite the yellow line) and caused an obstruction to traffic. On more than one occasion people in cars who have been inconvenienced by this have seen my wife standing at the front window, assumed the car in question is hers (it's parked outside the house so that's not an unreasonable assumption) and made gestures to convey that they're displeased with the parking. We relayed this story to the person concerned, and they've stopped parking there so having a reasonable word with someone will often help the situation.
Matthew Kelly
No, not that one.
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Yes mine, mine all MINE (Bwar har har!!!). Actually, I own a garage and that has a parking space in front of it, which is clearly marked as belonging to that garage on my deeds. I also rent a second garage (one full of cr*p, one full of car) and so have the equivalent space in front of that. The upkeep of the garages is the responsibility of the owners (they are freehold) and there is no public right of way over the land, and so any perceived space is certainly not fair game for all and sundry! As I mentioned, I told my neighbour (garageless) to park outside mine if he cannot park in the street. I know his car. Another neighbour does not like cars parking kerbside outside his property, and now parks his car on the road rather than in the drive so that he has the spot and they cannot park there.
The silliest thing of all is that there is ample parking onstreet near my house, but there is extreme pressure to park right outside one's own front door, and 50 yards round the corner just will not do!!
I am lucky, but I think I have also reached the stage where I would not buy a house where I did not have a space of my own in which to park. X years ago, when I moved into the street, the number of cars was much lower. It has drastically increased now all the kids have reached that certain Nova owning age, so even good on street parking can quickly transmogfrify into nightmare on street parking. When I lived in London I got approximately one new dint per week in the car, which was parked outside the house on the street, due to the sheer pressure of all the cars trying to move and park in victorian streets that were not designed for massed car ownership.
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That's all reasonable enough except for your neighbour who has a driveway but won?t park in it in order to prevent others from others from parking outside his house, that?s just selfish especially given the situation you?ve described.
In my road there is not enough legitimate space for everyone to park their cars since there are traffic lights at my end of the road and you can?t have cars parked right up to the junction, especially considering that it?s two lanes (straight on and a right turn only filter lane) so anyone parking means that the straight on lane is blocked leading to cars backing up all the way down the road and the straight on people having to wait for the right filter to come on before they move forward if they?re stuck behind someone who wants to go right. Even worse it?s all permit parking only for residents during the day because we?re only round the corner from the station. Some people can park outside their house if they?re lucky (if they live a reasonable distance from the lights) ? we can?t but luckily there?s a public car park opposite so we can park in there for free evenings and weekends. However, not everyone uses that so some people our end of the street just block the road. The only problem with the car park is that you have to turn left out of it., no right turn possible so if you want to go in a northerly direction it?s a bit of a long way round. None of this really bothered me that much until we had our first child and we started to cart a load of extra stuff round with us, now it?s just inconvenient. Next house will definitely have off street parking !
At my parent?s old house we lived on a very steep narrow Victorian street, so parking was only one side of the road. At one stage we had 4 cars in the household and only one off street space ? I think we had more than our fair share. Situation wasn?t helped by the number of houses that had been converted into flats, hence making two households where there had been only one.
Matthew Kelly
No, not that one.
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Round here whenever you ask for planning permission for an extension, one of the criteria is does it reduce off street parking. If it does, permission refused.
I think they want each house to have sufficient off street (or garaged) for at least two cars.
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Matt, that sounds like a nightmare, but an all too familiar one. Interestingly, round here if you apply for permission to drop the kerb (and convert your front garden to a car park) they don't like it, so wise people either don't apply and/or just bump the car up the curb (use of strategically positioned half bricks optional!).
As in most of these things, calm negotiation is preferable to out and out warfare, although subtle psychological tactics can be fun, where the best you can do is win small victories to cheer yourselves up a bit.
The inconsiderate bloke in my street is a policeman, by the way. I make sure I leave him a polite notice (always polite) when his car thus parked overhangs the entranceway to the garages.
In my town, as they continually increase the car park prices at the station, they have to add to the double yellows which snake away up the nearby residential roads. I am also intrigued by the inpromptu car park which has sprung up at the M40 J6. I guess there is a bus into London (or Wycombe possibly) that stops there, and so all the locals from round about gather to think of ever more creative ways to park and catch the bus. I swear if they could stand them on end and strap them to the motorway bridge supports, they would do so!!
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