I live in an end terrace of late 1990s houses. They were built so that each house has space for one car (two at a pinch parked end to end) and the rest of the driveway is taken up with a raised bed and an adjacent space for rubbish and recycling bins.
We have one car. Our neighbours who moved this summer, had 3 cars but we each managed perfectly well in our respected spaces. They never asked to use ours or trespassed in any way and in fact, if their children strayed over our side, then their very nice young mother would call them away. We got on well.
This summer a new young couple moved in next door with a one year old. In the space between neighbours moving and moving in, we spent a sizeable sum on having the raised bed removed and the drive repaved. Because of a space on the other side of our former raised bed and the fact that we are end of terrace, we now have a drive which will fit three cars parked closely side by side. There is a narrow strip between the drives (about 18 inches). The neighbours have one car.
I try not to feel mean about this, but as soon as the new couple moved in, I noticed that he would leave his front door and walk diagonally across our drive to the road. They park half on the intervening strip. Then a few weeks ago, they had a number of friends around to lunch and he came and to the door and asked, in a way that suggested he expected the answer yes, if they could park on our drive. He said it would only be a little over from them. I said yes and then wondered if he knew that we all have free residents' permits for our visitors to park in any surrounding spaces (we are a controlled parking zone). When I mentioned this, he looked vague and said yes the last people had left him some permits. I went out shopping and found several cars parked on our drive in a fairly spacious way when I returned.
This morning I noticed a man standing staring at our house. Some time later I noticed he was still there. I was about to go out and ask what he was looking at when I realised he was looking at a small child (next door's) who was wandering around by our house and side entrance. I don't know who he was - a brother or friend?
When these people moved in, they immediately, with little discussion, took down the 6ft hedge between our gardens and put up a 4ft fence with a trellis on top. They didn't seem to understand that this felt like a major change of privacy on our part (especially as they seem to be always noisily out in their garden with one or other set of parents and friends). We put up a screen on our side, at our cost and they seemed surprised but accepted that that was what we wanted (they suggested a couple of young trees as a screen!!).
They are a nice enough couple from London who have only lived in a flat before. However, I feel quite invaded by them and annoyed with myself for minding about the drive but I also feel it is our property after all and if there was a wall, they couldn't wander across. No one else in our cul de sac on either side of the road shares drives and in fact, everyone is discreetly careful about the delicacies of living closely side by side.
Any thoughts on dealing with this in a positive manner?
Wicked Little Letters? (funny film of a long-forgotten case)