Parking nightmare.

On the estate where I live most houses are lucky enough to have space for 3 or 4 cars on their own drives and their visitors still park on the street. Also, they do it themselves sometimes. It drives me crazy. My neighbour continually parked in front of my garden because she said her husband didn't like having to shunt cars about on their own drive when the back one was being used first!

Eventually, they did widen their drive and I commented that my view was back again as I hadn't bought my house to be looking at her car all the time! They are lovely in all other respects.

No, I'm damn lucky with the parking at my little house - that's one of the reasons I chose it. It's a new build (which usually have off-road parking) so at the front there's just about enough space for two cars. It's great to park the car by the front door when I unpack the weekly shop. My little Smart for Two fits beautifully.
For those of you driven to despair by other's behaviour -you have my sympathy.

Parking on my road is a nightmare! I live in a Victorian house on a small square very near to town. Needless to say given the age of the houses there are no off street parking facilities?including for the visitors and staff of the old people’s home next door.
Also as we are so near town, and only 5 minutes walk from the railway station. We get commuters parking all day outside our houses to avoid paying for the town centre parking! It drives me nuts!
When we bought the place it was not like this! but as the push for spaces has increased, and as the council have been raising car parking fees, the situation has got worse.
On the other side of the Gardens opposite my house, is a firm of solicitors. They used to have a large car park for their staff and clients, but have now sold this off so that all their staff and clients drive round and around the square looking for somewhere to park!
When my DD3 and DGS lived with us when he was a new born, we used to struggle to get in and out of our house anytime except late evenings and Sundays! We often used to have to double park to get him and all his parapanalia in to the house and if my DD or DH went out with him during the day they always had to bring the Buggy since on return there would be nowhere to park and they would be forced to park up to 20 minutes walk away!
We have asked the county council to make the street residents permits, at least for a part of it! but they steadfastly refuse?

I am lucky, I live in a mid terrace but we have a large grass verge in front and had it made into a drive. We had to pay the Council to do this and they are supposed to maintain it. Although I believe, because of costs, they are trying to avoid doing so. Others have told me this.

I also have access at the rear and a garage so could park up to 4 cars. My next door neighbour has a car but no parking, up to now she hasn't tried to park over my drive.

Friend of mine recently got very rude note on her car calling her selfish for parking outside her own house. It said she has a drive and should use it! Note was from house opposite with 5 cars Friend usually does park in driveway but had been blocked in few days earlier and had an apt late in the day that she did not want to miss

I'm lucky (and I bought the house partly because of it) that although I live in a fairly densely developed small estate, one side of the road is green space so there's always room to park. Plus I have two parking spaces of my own. We do get some commuter parking but not sufficient to cause any major upsets.

One of the things I've looked for when buying a house, we had one where there was only on street parking but and older neighbour who didn't drive suggested we park on his drive. Our last two houses have had plenty of parking for us (we share a car) and visitors and there is street parking too. It can be very stressful if you struggle to park so much sympathy to all those of you with problems

A slightly different parking problem, but my friend's surgery was delayed because the surgeon couldn't find a parking space!

I’ve got a family next door with 4 cars and and a motorbike between them. Each house has 1 numbered parking space round the back and there are a few visitors spaces at the front . They’re too lazy to walk round the back so their space remains empty but they take up almost every visitor space in the front So selfish . They often park in the middle of 2 spaces too, so as to keep spaces for each other . It almost drives DH to distraction.

I have a drive now and room for husbands car on road but our house when we first married was a mid terrace with road parking and you soon learned to park in the tiniest space. Trying to get three under three, one dog and shopping out of car and into house meant I could park brilliantly but so many neighbours were useless, 25 years in this house and I still love pulling onto my own drive

I own the land up to the mid line of the street so any attempt by the council to charge people to park on my land would be vigorously challenged even though I can get 3 cars on my drive. It's the principle!

Sorry about above post, not sure how it happened! I am lucky enough to have a drive, but struggle some days to get on it as other are forced to park so close. Further down my street are rows of terraced houses and parking for them is virtually impossible.

Lpppo

Where we used to live was like a giant car park. Every space in the street had a car in it and more often than not one waiting. It was awful. Now we are in a quiet area. Easy to park at the shops, and most everywhere. We have a drive so no problem there either. I am so glad we moved.

We have 3 parking spaces at the back of our home (we have a back to front house according to our GSs). DH says that if a time comes that we need an extra bob or two we could rent out a space. ????

In outer London we don’t have problems parking, our drive takes 3 cars but our neighbour now has 3 children who all drive so sometimes 6 cars including a girlfriends need parking it is a bit annoying but there is plenty of on street parking . All of our road have their own drive or hard standing at the front. We are lucky by the sound of the problems some of you have even in the countryside.

We live near the centre of a busy village and, luckily, have drive big enough for 3 cars, although we have to shuffle them about if the front car wants to move first.

We have double yellow lines from the village to our drive where it becomes single line. It is a mixed blessing as we have no cars outside most of the time but then visitors can't park either and have to go up the road and park outside someone else's house. One of the people up the road used to puncture DD's tyres if she parked outside her house.

It is all exacerbated since the council sold off the big car park in the middle of the village and allowed houses to be built on it - less parking for more cars.

Yes, I live in a two up two down, my street is always chocca block, it’s permit only, just too many cars not enough street. My biggest moan however, is why should I have to pay for a permit anyway as I live on the street, its £66 per annum, the permit should be free, where I lived before I didn’t have to pay to park in the road outside my house

Parking requirements will vary from one LPA to another. Generally at least two parking spaces are required for a three bedroomed house, but exceptions may be made in town centre locations where there is good public transport.

Some years ago planning policy deliberately restricted parking spaces in the name of "sustainability" arguing that it would discourage people from using cars. It didn't. It just led to neighbour disputes.

Even if you don't have a car I think it is wise to try to live somewhere with some parking provision for your visitors, otherwise you might not have any.

We have no problem because we live in the back of beyond and have a large drive but where other family members live in villages or towns it is dire. DGD has a parking permit so is OK but much of the road is up to only two hours parking. They can buy a book of visitors parking tickets but are only allowed so many a year. As they are buying an apartment soon she has sold her car as will have no parking at all and her partner will fortunately be able to park at his office which is within walking distance.
So many places are becoming a nightmare and there is planning permission granted with seemingly no thought being given to people’s parking needs.

Not a problem as we chose a street with parking bays and sufficient room on the drive of our house. We also have residents parking permits so other drivers can only park for an hour before they have to move.

Interesting driverann . We don't but many of our neighbours do, especially where permits are now needed to raise funds by landlord who also owns the private road, ans so this has led to people parking their cars round the corner onto the free public road instead of buying a permit to park in front of their homes!

I was told by a man at the garage that after the 1st of May when the new MOT comes in that thousands of cars will be taken off the road because many will fail the test.

Fortunately it's not a problem as our drive takes two cars, so room for me and a visitor. I'm so glad we moved from the narrow street of period terraced houses where we lived 15 yrs ago. I'd have no chance evenings and weekends especially as my parallel parking is rubbish

It used to be bad along here, not quite so at the moment as the people next door don't drive (she kicked out the muppet that did have various vehicle/motorbikes and traded him for a non driver) and the neighbours a couple doors away who used to have three cars moved last year. Plus youngsters in a couple other houses have moved on and taken their cars with them, we wait for next lot to get to driving age lol.
We put in a drive years back so can park three cars with no problem other than the ignorant so and so's who sometimes think it funny to park across the entrance (the said muppet above was one).
We have playing fields across the road which belong to private school and when I first moved here there used to be trouble nearly every weekend as they had various matches which meant coachloads and posh cars of people from other schools would arrive and park down the road. The rows that went on! They no longer park here.