One For The Judge....

[ToraToraTora]

https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/2030290/pensioner-council-bans-parking-own-driveway?int_source=nba

Surely they can't stop you parking on your own driveway just because of a non dropped kerb. There's house near me where they have no dropped kerbs and they put their own rubber ramps down.

[barry1010]

Yes they can and they always have.  It is illegal to drive over the public footpath or verge except for lawful access.  It is the dropped kerb that makes it lawful. 

[naomi24]

Apparently they can stop it.   It's in the link.

[ToraToraTora]

they sound like petty vindictive B'stards to me. The guy even applied to pay for a dropped kerb.

[ToraToraTora]

Sorry just realised, he's a pensioner and it's a Labour council. Gawd they really hate pensioners don't they.

[mushroom25]

round here, the estates built in the 1970s have remote parking, with houses accessed via walkways and cycle paths. over the last few years, people have taken to parking in their front gardens, meaning they're driving over the grass to access the footpaths/cycleways. the authorities know about this but either it's not illegal, or they have chosen to look the other way. whichever, clearly there's an understanding that people should be able to park outside their houses. 

[DDIL]

//Mr Howe’s application was rejected due to the 4.3-metre space being just below the required 4.8 metres//

There is why it was rejected - not because he was a pensioner!

[naomi24]

As far as I know drop kerbs have always been a requirement for parking on your own drive.  The link says his drive fails to meet the minimum size for off road parking.  I doubt the council will change the rules to accommodate him but it's a bit of a jobsworth decision.

[barry1010]

It wasn't a drive originally, it was his front garden.

There is nothing to stop anyone parking in front of his property (it's an offence to park across a dropped kerb) unless there are other parking restrictions in place. A blue badge holder could, he wouldn't be causing an obstruction because it's not a drive.

He is lucky he got away with it for as long as he did, and lucky he was never prevented access by a parked car.

[THECORBYLOON]

It's not the parking on his own driveway that is an offence, it's how the car got there.

Highways Act 1980 

184 Vehicle crossings over footways and verges.

(1) Where the occupier of any premises adjoining or having access to a highway maintainable at the public expense habitually takes or permits to be taken a mechanically propelled vehicle across a kerbed footway or a verge in the highway to or from those premises, the highway authority for the highway may, subject to subsection (2) below, serve a notice on the owner and the occupier of the premises—
(a)stating that they propose to execute such works for the construction of a vehicle crossing over the footway or verge as may be specified in the notice; or
(b) imposing such reasonable conditions on the use of the footway or verge as a crossing as may be so specified.
...
(17) If a person knowingly uses a footway or verge as a crossing in contravention of any condition imposed under subsection (1)(b) above, or knowingly permits it to be so used, he is guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale."

A level 3 fine has a maximum of £1,000.

[bednobs]

he was an idiot for not getting a dropped kerb when he should have, 20 years ago.

i find it curious you "just realised" hes a pensioner and its labour considering it's in red in the first para.  Dont you read your own stories?

[ToraToraTora]

Why is every question turned into some sort of dig with some people.

[davebro3]

"People who can't afford a proper driveway (preferably with automatic gates) and off-road parking/garaging for several vehicles shouldn't be allowed to own cars." (TTT)🤣

[bednobs]

thats a really good question ttt.  why do people turn every one of their questions into a dig about labour?

[jackthehat]

All of the above explain why this chap can no longer park on his 'driveway', however, I think the real scandal is how much people are being charged for the work - £ 3000 - that's outrageous. 

[TheChair]

It's not the Labour council, but the Highways Act of 1980 when Thatcher was in power. The Express and TTT always manage to put a misleading spin of everything.

[DDIL]

Best answer for 1006

[ToraToraTora]

10:06 where have I said that? Stop it with the porkies.

[New Judge]

There have been  few cases in the press recenly about this topic and I must say that (a) I was surprised that drivers believe it is quite OK to drive up a kerb and across a footway and (b) many councils seem to tolerate it..

As explained, the council cannot stop you parking on your front drive or in your front garden. But they can prevent you from (or a least penalise you for) driving over the footway to get there.

My local council has always enforced this rigidly. They go to the trouble of erecting concrete posts on the pavement to prevent persisent offenders. The main reason they cite is  that the footway is not designed to take the weight of vehicles and damage can occur both to the footway itself and utility infrastructure beneath it.

The rule about 4.8m is quite clear on my Council's website and they charge £2,750 for the construction of a straightforward crossover.