New issue with Parking outside my house

[Efc1878]

Hi , Looking for advice if any one can help or point me in the right direction it would be greatly apprecciated

I live in a small close consisting of 4 semi detachted houses either side , houses 2,4,6,8 on onside and 1,3,5,7 on the otherside , I am situated at no 6 and just after my window there is a drop down kerb that leads onto a bit of land that houses 7 and 8 access to get to their drives. I'm led to believe the land was adopted by the council however due to a parking dispute with neighbours 7 and 8 it has now been unadopted by the council so half the land has been split and one of the neigbours has now put a fence smack down the middle basically seperating driveways however they have put the fence near to the drop down kerb so its nigh impossible to park in front of my house without blocking my neighbour no.8 in her drive. I believe the land unadopted is on the boundarys of neighbours 7 and 8 but my boundary line goes up to the path kerb but it doesn't mean I can build a fence on it. I'm unsure legally about parking in front of drop downs kerbs but also unsure about whether the council can unadopt whenever they like and cause more problems. Also I have no garage and a very small drive , we have 2 cars so one has been parking outside happily for the past 15 years so I would just like a bit of advice on what I can actually do
Thanks for you help
Best Regard
John

[des8]

Re: New issue with Parking outside my house

Here's an article from The Telegraph you might find interesting:
I have a query about the rules relating to the adopting and "unadopting" of roads. I can find plenty of information about procedures for applying for a road to be adopted by the local authority but nothing on what happens if the council wants to "unadopt" a road. Once a road has been adopted by the council, are they free to "unadopt" it at will, or do they have to put it to the residents along the road?
I live in a row of three cottages near the end of a single-track lane about a mile in length. The road serves seven properties, including a manor house. When we bought the property we were very pleased to discover that the lane is an adopted road. However, I know that the council highways budget has been cut drastically for this year and I am very concerned that they are going to attempt to have the lane adopted by the new owner of the manor house, against the wishes of myself and other residents. It would clearly devalue our properties, and leave us at the mercy of the new owner.
David Fleming writes:
I have never come across a case where a local authority has asked to "unadopt" a road on the grounds that it is too expensive to maintain and I do not believe that this would be a valid justification for so doing.
In certain cases "stopping up" orders can be made stating that the piece of land is no longer to be a public highway. Generally, this is done by a local authority as part of the planning process where a highway gets in the way of a development. A local authority does have power to apply to the magistrates court for an order under section 116 Highways Act 1980 on the grounds that a highway is "unnecessary".
Theoretically, if all the residents of a road decided that they wished to take over the highway themselves, it might be possible to persuade the local authority to make such an application. This would be very unusual, except where there are special circumstances. For example, in one case the residents persuaded the local authority to apply for and obtain such an order where a passageway was being used by drug addicts and the residents wished to erect a gate so that only they could have access to it.
In your case it is clear that the residents wish the road to remain adopted and I do not think there is any reasonable prospect of the council trying to "unadopt" it. You should insist that they comply with their obligations to maintain the highway.

• David Fleming is head of property litigation at William Heath & Co.

[des8]

Re: New issue with Parking outside my house

If the council wishes to "unadopt" a road (technically it's called stopping up) they have to prove that it is not in breach of its duties under the Highways Act 1980, to protect and preserve public access rights & will need the approval of the Magistrates Court.

[Efc1878]

Re: New issue with Parking outside my house

Thanks for the info David , not to sure if the land is classed as a road though as the road finishes at the drop down kerb then best to describe it is just a Tarmac square after the drop down kerb that separates no.7's drive and no8's drive so it's like been shared access for both neighbours to get onto their drives but also one neighbour has been parking right at the end and moving over more towards the other neighbours drive which has led to the dispute so to me it looks like the council has just agreed to unadopt the land so the boundary issue can be resolved however by doing this and the neighbour putting up the fence has now caused this issue for me. I just feel its been so inconsiderate of the council to allow this and not look at the effects it could have on the whole street as if I can't park outside my house then I would have to park outside one of my other neighbours which could cause them hassle, hopefully I've explained it a bit more and hoping to speak to the council guy tomorrow so I will update my post to let you know how I get on
Thanks
john

[des8]

Re: New issue with Parking outside my house

Under the Highways Act 1980, the council have to keep a register of highways ( pavements are part of the highway) which must be available to the public.
You could do your own search.
Don't know how far you would want to escalate this, but if the highway is being obstructed by the fence,your neighbour might like to take note the 1980 Act states:
If a person, without lawful authority or excuse, in any way wilfully obstructs the free passage along a highway he is guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding [F1level 3 on the standard scale].

PS I'm Des. The David in the quotes above is a solicitor who works with William Heath & co.
I have no legal training, and my comments are not intended to be legal advice, which should be obtained from a lawyer.

[Efc1878]

Re: New issue with Parking outside my house

Hi Des
Thanks for info , apparently the council are now stating that this land was always unadopted so as it was in the boundaries of both neighbours either is entitled to put up a fence even if they had used it as a shared access to their drives for years. How can I find out legally whether this land has just been unadopted or its been unadopted since the houses were built. I can only see this having an impact on the whole close as if I can't park in front of my own house then I will have to park in front of someone elses and I can just see this having a knock on effect so was hoping to see if the council were being honest with me as I would like to know if it was adopted why they would unadopted without consulting other neighbours.
Any other help on this matter would be greatly appreciated
Best Regards
John

[des8]

Re: New issue with Parking outside my house

If you think the council employer gave you false information, physically check the register.
You should be able to find which office (probably Highways) it is kept in by reference to the council's website.
Then make an appointment to view it.
They can't refuse, but be aware it will possibly be a large uncollated bundle of papers which may take hours to wade through.