Car cross over blocked with bin

I think I would move! She sound too unpleasant and petty invest in living there, but yes, get the council on your side.

I'm not sure what you mean exactly about the "crossover".
Do you actually drive over any part of "her" land?
I know you say it belongs to the council but I don't understand why anything needs to cross-over when you have a (shared) dropped curb.
What is the "crossover" please?

It’s really easy to get planning permission these days. Even if they object, it won’t get them anywhere unless your plans don’t fit the criteria set by the planners.

The easiest way to park the car in this position is to cross the pavement at an angle, using "her" half of the dropped kerb.

I read all the comments and was actually surprised as you admit to going on your neighbours curb. Look at it from her point of view, maybe if she or her relatives kept parking on your side, you would feel the same.

Maybe it's only to "drop" your husband off and then you shift your vehicle afterwards. If so, either leave conversations as it is or write a small note, apologising for any inconvenience. Neighbours CAN cause grief long term if you're not planning on moving!

Aren't there rules for when you can have your bins out. Our council does not allow bins out other than on the designated days. You should report her.

She sounds a very sad person eaten up with fury. She is obviously watching the driveway all the time to see what you are up to. People can be very territorial when it comes to property boundaries and she sees it as an infringement that you are going on her kerb. It really would have been better to have asked her permission before you did so. Now she is reluctant to give it because you didn’t ask, just assumed. Maybe you could buy her some flowers as way of apology and let her know you have applied for planning permission. The council will have notified her anyway but it would be nice to tell her in person. If you can try to build bridges to avoid a bad neighbour. What does dh think?

We have a similar sort of arrangement with our drive and it would not occur to me to pick a fight with our neighbour over something so petty. However, the delivery men to their house are a nightmare as they park across both drives. It is less of a problem now but my husband used to be a retained firefighter. If I asked the delivery men to move, they used to give me a right mouthful even though I asked nicely and explained the situation. Waiting for them to finish their delivery might have meant the difference between life and death for some poor soul as the fire pump couldn't leave the station without a driver or a full crew. Mind you, when you get cretins lying down in the road to stop a fire engine like you get in our nearby city, I suppose the delivery men considered their attitude to be reasonable!!!

I think I'd be tempted to nip out under the cover of darkness, and take her wheelie bin for a long walk! (light hearted)

What a miserable person, doesn't she realise that life is difficult enough being, and living with, a disabled person, without neighbours making life even more miserable for their own petty reasons. I severely dislike people like this!

Even if you had to pay for the dropped kerb the pavement and dropped kerb still belong to the council. You both just have a right of access via that route. Your neighbour is the one being mean and petty blocking your access.

Well she is a real cow! Sorry to be blunt, but who would do this?

Auntieflo

Can you not get the council to give you a designated, marked 'Disabled' bay, outside your property.
Or is the drive too steep for your husband to negotiate?

If there's off road parking to a property it's unlikely that the council would agree to a marked bay.
Also although it may be requested by a particular household, any one with a blue badge can use it so may not always be available for the OP.

As long as the OP remains on council property (pavement etc) while accessing her drive then she is doing nothing wrong, although I can see that it might be annoying

I can't believe that she is so petty despite the fact that you have explained why you drive on to the property in such a way!
The dropped kerb is not "hers", it is just a means for her to access her property in an easy way.
Personally, I'd be tempted to treat her the same way by putting your wheely bin right on the edge of your property , impeding her access but as she is the one most likely to drop you in trouble, it wouldn't be a good idea, sadly

OMG, Hellogirl1, he's even chained them to his house!

What a petty curtain twitcher to treat you both like that, especially with your husband in a wheelchair. Terrible woman

Thank you all for your moral support. In response to some of the issues raised, I am attaching a photo taken from our front window yesterday. The crossover is the pale strip parallel to the road between the dropped kerb and the black tarmac which is our drive. It is especially strengthened to allow for vehicles to pass over underground pipes and belongs to the council. I have never driven on next door's drive.
We do not need and would not qualify for a disabled space on the road as we have off road parking.
My husband has Lewy Body Dementia so cannot offer much support.
We only moved here late last year and, once extended, this house will be ideal for my husband's needs so we won't be moving again. I believe the people next door have lived there for around 30 years but our house was empty for 3-4 years before we moved in.

Dilemma

Thank you all for your moral support. In response to some of the issues raised, I am attaching a photo taken from our front window yesterday. The crossover is the pale strip parallel to the road between the dropped kerb and the black tarmac which is our drive. It is especially strengthened to allow for vehicles to pass over underground pipes and belongs to the council. I have never driven on next door's drive.
We do not need and would not qualify for a disabled space on the road as we have off road parking.
My husband has Lewy Body Dementia so cannot offer much support.
We only moved here late last year and, once extended, this house will be ideal for my husband's needs so we won't be moving again. I believe the people next door have lived there for around 30 years but our house was empty for 3-4 years before we moved in.

Think the council need to be told that the bin is out on non collection days. Why are people so preoccupied with making other people’s lives hard. My mum often allows neighbours to park in front of her garage if she hasn’t, there is so much give and take from her neighbours that she will never move even though the house is too bug for her. Her neighbours look out for her, she takes packages in and such like. It’s worth so much to have good people next door.

Maybe if the house had been empty they have lost their extra parking space, shame!

Hope you can get some peace. X

Hellogirl1

This is what our neighbour did to stop anyone parking outside his house. It was soon removed after I called the Highways dept.

I live in a cul-de-sac opposite a school so at drop off and pick up it can be utter chaos. The people at the end of the road (where there is a turning space and a gate into the school car park) had a similar arrangement which they put out each day to prevent people parking in the turning space and blocking their gate, but it also prevented neighbours using the turning space! I considered complaining but didn't want to fall out with a neighbour, but they don't do it anymore. I guess somebody else did complain!
Some people are very territorial about the bit of road outside their home but if it isn't within their boundary they don't have any rights over it. Obviously it is nice to be able to park outside your own home but it isn't a right and some people don't seem to understand that.
YANBU! Good luck living next to such an inconsiderate selfish person.

I'd just move the bin out of the way, Dilemma, and then drive onto your property in the way you describe. I wouldn't put the bin back.

I came across what I saw as a useful rule for life some time back. It said: "Don't force anyone else; force yourself." I'd put moving a bin out of my way in the "forcing myself" category aka just dealing with someone else's silly behaviour.

What an awful person she is and so petty!

Very petty of your neighbour. Would it be feasible for you to adapt your front garden with a dropped kerb to give you better and much easier access to your car for you and DH. That would put paid to your neighbour's silly antics.

Dilemma The photo has helped make sense of your situation.

As the dropped curb/cross over, belongs to the council could you apply to have it extended and open your front up a little more then your neighbour mean spiritedness won't impact on you.

Or may be talk to the council about paving some of the grass strip in front of you home to allow you a level area to do the transfer on while you park on the road before you get on to your drive.

As others have advised gather evidence incase you need it to counter any objections to your planning permission.

I do think your neighbour is behaving in a mean and small minded way when she clearly knows it isn't just you hooping in and out of the car as easy as a young fit person.

She knows you have to do a transfer from wheelchair to car and car to chair and yet she wants to be obstructive.

May be you could get her to try doing the transfer and see how hard it is. I've done it on a few occasions for family and friends and it isn't easy.

Good Luck with finding a solution and I hope all goes well with planning permission for your extension.

I was shocked when I read this. How can anyone do this to a disabled person. I assume that you are not coming and going all hours of the day and night and therefore only cause minor inconvenience (if that) to your neighbour when you do come and go. I know that you want to 'keep the peace' due to your proposed extension but if she complains about the acces then I think there are many more complaints to come with regard to the extension.

It sounds as if you have enough on your plate day to day without more aggro from this woman! But since you have to live near her and might need her goodwill in the future when your building work begins could another kind of approach work? Could you invite her to come and have a cup of coffee/glass of wine with you? Maybe if she came in and saw some of your difficulties first hand she might be more understanding. Perhaps ask another neighbour or two to dilute her a bit! Whatever happens don't let her make you miserable.

What a very nasty woman! And she obviously knows she is, because she brings the bin in before her son sees it. Perhaps he could have a word with his mum.
In the meantime I would just take a deep breath and move it, and if she says anything tell her you will keep moving it.
She won't necessarily be able to prevent you getting planning permission. She would need to have a pretty good reason.
Why would anyone not want to be nice and helpful? what is there to gain by living like that? She can't be happy.

A couple of years ago, I went to hear a policeman speak about local crime prevention. One of the things he talked about was how speculative burglars trawl streets noting properties where bins are left out for days on end or even for hours after collection has taken place. It can be a good indicator of who's not home whether just at work or away for longer periods. They had linked a number of crimes to this. His force ran a campaign asking neighbours to take in bins for one another following which burglary numbers decreased.

Worth thinking about, whether you casually seed that anxiety into your neighbour's head or even talk to your local PCSO about it.

Another angle is the Equalities Act 2010. Whatever you neighbour thinks, that looks to me like a public pavement which should be accessible to all. The RNIB are good on this kind of thing. A local person with impaired vision might know to take extra care one day a week when he or she knows the binmen are due but should expect the pavement to be clear of obstructions at any other time.