Drivway/access issue

[Electric_Andy]

I thought it was an offence to block someone from leaving their property, but not an offence to block someone returning.

I just thought it was an offense to block a driveway full stop, but it seems not. I guess your comment makes sense e.g. you might have to leave in an emergency but you wouldn't have to return and park in an emergency, as you could just park somewhere else

 

[icowden]

I think that if a car is parked across any part of the driveway, they should't be i.e. they are blocking it. Whereas my partner thinks they are only in the wrong if they are blocking the dropped curb half of the driveway. Who is right?

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Your driveway is the part with the dotted line. That is the part of the public pavement you are permitted to drive a car across. The raised curb is not your driveway. You cannot drive there.

Anyone can park by the raised kerb as that is not your driveway. They may not block the dropped kerb, because that is a driveway. What you choose to do with the rest of your front garden is up to you. You can use it to park a car on. You cannot legally drive over the raised kerb however and you could be held liable for any damage to the pavement, utilities under the pavement etc. When a dropped kerb is installed the pavement is also strengthened (if neccesary).

 

[Electric_Andy]

Your driveway is the part with the dotted line. That is the part of the public pavement you are permitted to drive a car across. The raised curb is not your driveway. You cannot drive there.

Anyone can park by the raised kerb as that is not your driveway. They may not block the dropped kerb, because that is a driveway. What you choose to do with the rest of your front garden is up to you. You can use it to park a car on. You cannot legally drive over the raised kerb however and you could be held liable for any damage to the pavement, utilities under the pavement etc. When a dropped kerb is installed the pavement is also strengthened (if neccesary).

Yes someone else said that. But because of the angle of the walls either side, it is not possible to drive in without going over part of the raised curb. Well it would be if I could swing out first, but we never can because there is a car parked opposite the whole time

 

[icowden]

Yes someone else said that. But because of the angle of the walls either side, it is not possible to drive in without going over part of the raised curb. Well it would be if I could swing out first, but we never can because there is a car parked opposite the whole time

Unfortunately the law doesn't care about that. It only cares that you have provisioned a dropped kerb and that's the only bit you are allowed to drive over. It isn't an offence for anyone to park on the bit that isn't dropped. You could apply to widen the drive and extend the dropped kerb?

 

[Beebo]

This is my drive. Just taken off street view.
We park both cars on the drive and usually no one parks where the red line is.
Sometimes they do, and it makes getting on and off hard but not impossible.
But they can park there legally as it isn’t a dropped curb.

 

[Seevio]

How does that work when my car is in the garage? You wouldn't know if you were blocking me from leaving.

If the garage door is shut, the person parking has simultaneously parked legally and illegally. It is only when the door is opened that one waveform collapses and the outcome is revealed.

This is usually explained using a box containing a cat of uncertain health.

 

[Dogtrousers]

I had someone park on my driveway once, blocking the garage. I found out it wasn't taxed so I reported it to the DVLA. Turned out it was next door's son - they'd not long moved in and he hadn't visited before and it was a mistake. He moved it. But I still told the DVLA

I asked the council about what to do in these circs and they said "your problem, matey"

 

[figbat]

Simply paving your front garden doesn’t make it a driveway. There a some not far from me where the occupiers have paved the garden and parked cars on it, but there’s no dropped kerb. In this case it is not a driveway, it’s just decorative. It may even be in breach of planning regulations.

 

[stephec]

Can you get a white H line painted in front, these usually seem to extend past the ends of the dropped kerb, maybe to allow for turning?

 

[Mike_P]

On a minor road (not A B or C) planning is not required so long as you are undertaking some associated hardsurfacing. A kerb crossing licence from highways is always required.

 

[lazybloke]

I drove past a house near Wimbledon the other day, nice neat clean driveway but no dropped kerbs.
And some brand spanking new bollards concreted into the pavement blocking acces!

I like to think the bollards were the winning move by the council against a knuckle-dragging home-owner who'd refused to get appropriate permissions.

Just a shame the car (or cars) weren't in the drive at the time.