Problems with on-road parking

Q

WE HAVE had gardeners working for us. They parked their van near to our house so they would have less fetching and carrying with tools.

That meant on-road parking across the driveway we share with our next door neighbours – the space is occupied overnight by our neighbour’s car but as he was at work, we knew he would not be back until the gardeners left. The drive itself is too narrow for today’s cars.

But, although she knew the car was to do with us, our neighbour’s very elderly mother called the council parking people.

I saw a guy arriving on a motor scooter, going next door and then ticketing the car.

It’s a £110 fine – halved for payment within 14 days.

Is this ticket right because it’s our drive as much as next door’s? There’s no yellow line. Janice D

APARKING in residential streets is always a problem with many homes having several cars in roads built before vehicle ownership expanded.

Many regard the space in front of their own property as belonging to them.

Generally, you can’t prevent anyone parking there – but your neighbour used an exception.

Under the Traffic Management Act 2004, it is a ticketable offence to park any part of a car in front of dropped kerbs or lowered foot ways. This includes access drives to private land. It does not matter if there is a yellow line or not. This also applies any hour, any day.

You can park your own car there – you have to complain if you want another vehicle ticketed. But where a driveway is shared, either owner can call parking enforcement even when there is no obstruction.

Once issued, a ticket can not be torn up (although you could appeal with support from the neighbour).

But you could take advantage of the rules. You could threaten to call parking control every time he parks his car there, as it needs both sides’ permission. He could face a fine every day, which might persuade him to pay for his mother causing this penalty. But obviously this would escalate things quite a bit with your neighbour and it’s always best to try to resolve things amicably.