Neighbour dispute re parking outside house and Prescription Act

[MrStory]

My wife and I live in a no through cul de sac and both park in one side of the end hammerhead section, on the road in front of our drive. We’ve parked like this for over 20 years continuously

We are looking to claim a right to park there on the road as we like via the Prescription Act. Can and how do we do this?

We want to make it more official as neighbours have been complaining that we are actually blocking a turning area and impeding a transferable easement which allows them a right of way over the whole road inc the turning area, but vehicles can still turn round okay. The odd one takes a few goes or reverses down the road. No one has complained before.

Looking at Land Registry the road is still in the name of a private company, the original developers I think, and has been since the sixties. These developers went into liquidation last year and no other owner had been assigned

However, also for the last 20 years and we think for a while before that, the road has always been maintained by the local council/highways authority/parish council . So public money pays for road re surfacing, a grit bin for the road, a road sweeper comes up here to clean kerbs, a lamp post and its maintenance and upgrades and the road name is on signs provided I’m guessing by the local authority- the signs are the standard type we see all over the U.K.. The council and Parish council seem to have jurisdiction e.g. a number of residents have been written to or spoken to about things like branches from gardens hanging over and impeding the pavement, issues regarding this road have also appeared on Parish Council meeting agendas.

can anyone advise please?

[Huxie]

For info - some more background to this in a previous thread:
https://legalbeagles.info/forums/for...e-over-parking

[des8]

That sounds very like a highway maintained at public expense so most unlikely you could obtain an exclusive right to park there

[MrStory]

That sounds very like a highway maintained at public expense so most unlikely you could obtain an exclusive right to park there

thank you for your reply. I appreciate all advice anyone can give.

we’re a bit confused as after receiving solicitor’s letters from a neighbour complaining about our parking significantly interfering with their transferable right of way easement and blocking the road, we sought legal advice, actually at the other side’s suggestion.

our solicitor advised us we have def earned a right to park where we have been for 20 years under the prescription act based on the registered owner of the road still being the original developer. He didn’t really go into whether that could be wrong or adoption. But we do definitely get publicly funded maintenance services here and always have done.

anyway, our solicitor has now written to the other side’s solicitor stating we have definitely earned a right to park in the turning area under the prescription act. We offered, however a compromise, that we would park one of our cars on our drive more often when it suited us ie. It depends who’s going to work first depending on which day. But our neighbour has just told us they’ve sent our solicitor’s letter to the highways section of the local council with a complaint about us apparently trying to land grab part of a public highway and causing an obstruction. The council has apparently sent this letter to their solicitor!

could we be in trouble and has our solicitor given us incorrect advice? I’m so worried the council will sue us!

[des8]

three sets of solicitors now involved .... this could become expensive.

Have you checked with your county council highways authority whether or not this road is a highway?
A highway is maintainable either at the public expense or at private expense
In either case, regardless of who owns the land, the public have the right to pass and repass over it without let or hindrance.

i would suggest the position as I outlined in post 3 of your earlier thread pertains if it is deemed this road is a highway.

but what do i know when solicitors are involved

can't envisage the council suing you, altho they may become liberal with the yellow paint and start issuing PCNs

[MrStory]

three sets of solicitors now involved .... this could become expensive.

Have you checked with your county council highways authority whether or not this road is a highway?
A highway is maintainable either at the public expense or at private expense
In either case, regardless of who owns the land, the public have the right to pass and repass over it without let or hindrance.

i would suggest the position as I outlined in post 3 of your earlier thread pertains if it is deemed this road is a highway.

but what do i know when solicitors are involved

can't envisage the council suing you, altho they may become liberal with the yellow paint and start issuing PCNs

no, I haven’t checked directly with the council, but it is def maintained by public money. The “council” came out and changed the lamp post to a new environmentally friendly one a couple of years ago. The lamp post is a long way into our cul de sac road situated at the turning point so no doubt. Also in 2020 the council came round to check our grit bin, also a long way into the road and another neighbour got asked to trim their hedge by the councillor checking. No one else pays for all the services and maintenance.

the neighbour who started complaining would love yellow lines, sounds like I may have shot myself in the foot but better than being sued.

sounds like my solicitor wasn’t the best choice perhaps. My son says I should’ve gone for one less general, property and neighbour disputes was just one of a whole long list of his specialisms but the firms online reviews were good. He wasn’t cheap!

thank you, I appreciate your response. Have a good evening