Angling Club's Parking Issue

[StringJunky]

I am secretary of an Angling Association and we have had use of some parking spaces that are situated beside our lake but are situated in the grounds of one of the major food stores. We have used these parking spaces for 18 years.

This store has now had a major refit and in the process reallocated the use of these bays for their lorries and they have put signs up to this effect that cannot be used by anglers or visitors to the lake. Nothing has physically changed about these bays but for the presence of these signs. If lake users continue to use these bays we think there is a possibility they will get clamped.

My question is do they have the automatic right to do this without considering our needs given them we have been using them for so long? My mind is thinking along the same principle as in Rights of Way when a path for has been used for a long time...is it the same for parking?

The lake situated next to the store is council owned and I think there were agreements in place regarding parking but these have been lost with the passing of the anging club’s senior officials.

Do we have any avenues that we can explore?

[Budgie]

Re: Angling Club's Parking Issue

Hi Stringjunky,

I am a keen Angler so this is a subject close to my heart, have a similar problem on some waters where I fish in Surrey.

Whereabouts is the lake, a post code would be great, I will try and do some searches and see if I can find any historic information on this matter.

Regards Budgie

[StringJunky]

Re: Angling Club's Parking Issue

Thanks for your response. The post code is LN6 7QN it's a Sainsbury store (It's now the biggest Sainsbury in Engand apparently at 100 000sq ft). I've snipped a Google picture so you can have a clearer idea. This picture is not up to date, the store now goes right up to the road at the top of the picture (as shaded). In between the two parking areas I've marked is the entrance to the lake area.

The lake is called Starmers Pit and is leased by the Lincoln and District Angilng Assoc. from Lincoln City Council...we've leased it since 1964.

[StringJunky]

Re: Angling Club's Parking Issue

Here's a picture I took today of the area in question:

[Crispybacon]

Re: Angling Club's Parking Issue

Hiya

Have you written to Sainsburys yet? May be worth sending the store manager a letter stating you have noticed these new signs and want to ensure that this does not affect the parking arrangement that has been in place for almost 20 years.

TBH I doubt very much that preventing your parking was even in their minds when those signs were put up.

You can then act depending on the response you get......

Crispy

[StringJunky]

Re: Angling Club's Parking Issue

Hiya

Have you written to Sainsburys yet? May be worth sending the store manager a letter stating you have noticed these new signs and want to ensure that this does not affect the parking arrangement that has been in place for almost 20 years.

TBH I doubt very much that preventing your parking was even in their minds when those signs were put up.

You can then act depending on the response you get......

Crispy

Hi Crispy

Your post made me think that you might be right so I went to the information Desk there this morning and I asked if the parking arrangements for us were the same and the person there said yes. Only time will tell really as they are still busy and probably preoccupied with tying things up with the refit and there aren't many Anglers using the spaces for any appreciable length of time with the fishing season not really underway yet.

I did have a word with a supervisor a while ago and we agreed to go away and consult our respective sources but I found out all my potential sources had passed away..but anyway...fingers crossed it will stay that way and many thanks for your response.

Tony

[Guest]

Re: Angling Club's Parking Issue

It is a well settled principle of law, in particular in commercial contracts, that evidence of custom and usage is admissible to annex incidents to written contracts in matters with respect to which they are silent. This rule has also been applied to other types of contract, in which known usages have been established and have prevailed. This has been done upon the principle of presuming that, in such transactions, the parties did not mean to express in writing the whole of the contract by which they meant to be bound, but meant to contract with reference to those known usages.

In the case of your Angling Club, in the absence of evidence of a contrary intention, it may be taken that the custom or usage normally governs the particular type of contract in question, thus it will be regarded as part of that contract in precisely the same manner as if it had been expressly agreed between the parties.

I would imagine that Sainsbury's will not be overly concerned, provided that anglers' vehicles do not inhibit movement or parking of their own and therefore they will probably leave you to park as you have previously.

However, if it should reach the stage where you need to formalise an agreement with Sainsbury's, I would suspect that you will have a reasonably strong case to place before a court, on the basis of the previous course of dealings between the parties as it is well established that a custom or usage may be imported into a contract whether or not the parties knew of it.

[StringJunky]

Re: Angling Club's Parking Issue

It is a well settled principle of law, in particular in commercial contracts, that evidence of custom and usage is admissible to annex incidents to written contracts in matters with respect to which they are silent. This rule has also been applied to other types of contract, in which known usages have been established and have prevailed. This has been done upon the principle of presuming that, in such transactions, the parties did not mean to express in writing the whole of the contract by which they meant to be bound, but meant to contract with reference to those known usages.

In the case of your Angling Club, in the absence of evidence of a contrary intention, it may be taken that the custom or usage normally governs the particular type of contract in question, thus it will be regarded as part of that contract in precisely the same manner as if it had been expressly agreed between the parties.

I would imagine that Sainsbury's will not be overly concerned, provided that anglers' vehicles do not inhibit movement or parking of their own and therefore they will probably leave you to park as you have previously.

However, if it should reach the stage where you need to formalise an agreement with Sainsbury's, I would suspect that you will have a reasonably strong case to place before a court, on the basis of the previous course of dealings between the parties as it is well established that a custom or usage may be imported into a contract whether or not the parties knew of it.

Are you saying it's more or less the same principle as how Right's of Way are established purely because it has been allowed to be used that way without contest for a sufficient number of years?

Thanks.

[Guest]

Re: Angling Club's Parking Issue

It is very similar in many respects, although you are not claiming a right of way, you are claiming the right to continue to park vehicles on this land.

You may find that this is classed as trespass, if you continue to park cars there. See post #2 for some more details regarding parking and trespass. Parking and clamping etc - Legal Beagles Consumer Forum