Mad neighbours

As long as their car park doesn't interfere with your property in any way, or put you at risk, etc., then I don't understand what you're grumping about!

They're in their 80s, so even if they live to be 100+, they haven't got that long left on our planet anyway, and it's their £5,000, not yours.

At their delicate ages, and if they have movement/mobility issues, they probably need their car closer to their house.

Let this glorious old couple live what's left of their lives and keep your nose out!

We had a neighbour some years ago who simply could not stand to be outdone. He HAD to have the latest design in DG windows/doors, he HAD to have top of the range fake grass (could no longer mow his lawns), he HAD to have the latest designs in furniture (swapped his sofa three times in as many years), HAD to have the biggest TV (and watched it at night with his curtains open so everyone could see it), bedding plants HAD to be purchased from the most upmarket garden centre despite him driving past several others to get to his destination.

It was exhausting because he always asked us what all the other neighbours were planning, we didn’t have a clue half the time as it was none of our business and we didn’t really care anyway.

The oneupmanship was off the scale and I genuinely think he was a little mad.

Well, thank goodness for my friendly little area.

Personally, I think that this couple having their front garden made up into a drive for their car are very sensible. Have no idea why anyone would think it madness.

So much more convenient having the car, almost like an extension of the house. When they bring shopping etc. home so much easier for them to transfer it into the house, in bad weather, they can get from house to car without getting soaked, etc.

As long as they are also arranging via local authority to have a dropped curb there, then they are correct in that they can stop people parking in front of it.

Some lovely designs around not for these front of house drives, and no reason not to have edges with flower beds to give it even more interest and good drainage.

I do wonder that someone is watching this - perhaps with some envy - and pricing it up. Madness it most definitely is not!!!

We have a dropped kerb, but I understand people shouldn't park outside our house when our car is on the front "patch" and blocking us in, but if we are out in the car there is nothing to stop them parking outside our house and effectively preventing us from parking on our "patch". I am willing to be proved wrong.
The only comment I would make is that concreted over gardens increase flooding, so waterpermeable building materials are better for the environment.

Great idea! I would do the same if I was them. Stop folk half parking on the pavements.

I understand that you feel a sense of loss, as it changes the whole look of a street when people pave their gardens. Intrestingly, I have a neighbour who ripped out his garden, paved and has added as many sheds as possible. Some people don't value green space. Loss if green space can lower property value, as it lowers "kerb appeal". The thread on trespass resonates. I now have gates both sides, as have caught various neighbours trespassing, with their dogs, or looking for cats. One actually was feeding their cats in my garden. Now I lock the gates at night. It feels great. Control what you can, and protect your property. Try to ignore their bad behaviour otherwise it could stress you out. The car parking looks odd, because it's out of keeping with the rest of the street. You were right to feel sad about it. It is a loss.

I agree StTrinians, but we live close to the town centre with little parking. Without our front patch gravelled we would probably have to park several streets away. We have students locally in HMOs all with cars who take up road space. Gone are the days of students on bicycles.

But the look of our road has changed over the years sadly. The elderly neighbours across the road would turn in their graves to see how their lovely flower and shrub filled front gardens with forsythia, lilac and ceanothus smothered walls are now weed filled parking plots. Very sad.

TheSunRisesInTheEast

It saves your wing mirrors too 😉

😁

Allira

TheSunRisesInTheEast

It saves your wing mirrors too 😉

😁

Actually, ours tuck in when the engine is turned off.

Nifty!

TheWeirdoAgain60

As long as their car park doesn't interfere with your property in any way, or put you at risk, etc., then I don't understand what you're grumping about!

They're in their 80s, so even if they live to be 100+, they haven't got that long left on our planet anyway, and it's their £5,000, not yours.

At their delicate ages, and if they have movement/mobility issues, they probably need their car closer to their house.

Let this glorious old couple live what's left of their lives and keep your nose out!

😂😂😂

I'm feeling very delicate all of a sudden.
Please be kind.

I watched the wonderful Jessica Tandy in Fried Green Tomatoes yesterday and she said she was 80. When I watched the film first time round many years ago 80 seemed ancient.
Doesn't seem so ancient now!!!

Old age is always ten years older than you actually are 😁

I have a neighbour who suffers from Clinical Depression/ Bipolar. I try to be kind to her, give her lifts to Doctor, Dentist, shopping etc.
I don’t think she likes visitors - the other day, I knocked on her door - I knew she was there - as soon as she saw me walking g down the drive, she ran and hid in the kitchen - so I left,
Very difficult to remain friends with someone with a difficult condition.
When I do talk to her, she says she is lonely. On the other hand, when I try to pop in for a hat, she hides. 😂

I know someone who says she has always been unlucky with her neighbours- she was so pleased when her last ones moved out and she got a new neighbour. Hasn't taken long and now she's complaining about her new neighbours- anyone see a pattern here?

I don't know why but despite moving house many times I've always had good neighbours...maybe I'm super lucky?

We have a dropped kerb.
It is illegal to park across it if you block a car from getting out of the driveway onto the road, - the police can (and do) treat it as an "unnecessary obstruction." If it's just blocking a car from getting in I think you are supposed to contact the council. I haven't ever reported this though.

You also can't park by the sloping bit of the kerb either side. The whole "dip" has to be free.

Caught on our CCTV this morning.

Apparently the culprit was the teenage son who didn't want his Dad to know he was wasting food.

Dad obviously knows now and the lad has been told to clean it up.

So what is the problem exactly? Where I live, all the new houses have a tarmaced area in front for the purpose of parking. The gardens are at the back. It doesn't seem to cause any problems, unlike the older houses where the pavements are blocked by cars.

Sounds sensible to me my should they carry shopping further than they need they can’t take it with them so life should be as easy as possible

NotSpaghetti

We have a dropped kerb.
It is illegal to park across it if you block a car from getting out of the driveway onto the road, - the police can (and do) treat it as an "unnecessary obstruction." If it's just blocking a car from getting in I think you are supposed to contact the council. I haven't ever reported this though.

You also can't park by the sloping bit of the kerb either side. The whole "dip" has to be free.

I had relatives who lived in a narrow stretch of road with parking problems. Their house had a side drive with dropped kerb. In later life my aunt had poor health and had to be taken to hospital. Almost impossible if the drive was blocked.

My uncle used to ring the police everytime someone parked across his drive, and they would come and issue parking tickets to all offenders, no matter where in the street. It stopped illegal parking remarkably uickly. A couple of tickets for parking across someone elses drive - and they parked elsewhere. There was sufficient parking within 100 yards.

Yes.
I had the police out to my mother-in-law's property once.
I think people do learn, M0nica.

OldFrill

BlueBelle

Oh Cariad sing another song

I quite like "The Tales of Cariadagain" sometimes it's an update, sometimes a repeat and sometimes the omnibus, bit like The Archers.

Clever😁👏

Smart neighbours

That’s up to them and nobody else.

Our ex neighbour claimed it was difficult to get her (small) car onto her drive if there was a car parked on the opposite side of the road, not sure why, but it gave her sleepless nights worrying about it. So she bought another card to permanently park opposite her drive, to stop other people parking there!! She would have had to tax MOT and insure it! And when asked about it she denied knowing who owned it. She obviously had to drive it sometimes to keep it road worthy, and the performance when she did that was hysterical, she got her friend to stand in the space while she moved the car a bit, then she would park her other car in it while she drove the other one for a while, then repeat the performance with friend guarding the spot on her return, this in a completely empty road! I only saw it happen once and decided she was totally bonkers!