We live on an unadopted road that is owned by a neighbour. Other neighbours park on the road outside their houses (they don’t have any off street parking) and have done for decades. I’m unsure if any licence to park has ever been officially granted by the owner of the road.

The owner is now trying to develop some land off the road and access is a key issue. He is putting pressure on other residents about their parking on the road.

Can the lane owner do this? Do the residents have any rights to continue parking where they have for decades?

Residents will probably seek legal advice if this is pushed further, but would be good to hear from anyone with experience of similar situations.

Thanks.

Must be a quid pro quo re non-objection to the development in there somewhere, shirley?

Pretty much. Road owner trying to use it as leverage to quieten objection.

He could give licence, but that would narrow the lane further and cause more problems for his application. If he does revoke any licence then a few properties would have no parking and would need to park on the highway which is already a bottleneck and a hazard for traffic entering and exiting the lane.

Have you parked that as of right, without permission etc. Might have acquired a right to park by long use?

Pretty much. Road owner trying to use it as leverage to quieten objection.

Hmmm, not sure he’s got the whip hand here though?

Have you parked that as of right, without permission etc. Might have acquired a right to park by long use?

Luckily we have parking off the lane. Other properties on the lane, who have no other parking, have parked on the lane for decades. Though I don’t know if any permission was ever explicitly granted.

Hmmm, not sure he’s got the whip hand here though?

I suspect not, but need something to back that up.

Not sure why people would feel they’d have a right to park for free on other people’s property

Not sure why people would feel they’d have a right to park for free on other people’s property

Helpful 😉

That is the question though. Is it really that straightforward or are there any rights based on practice that has been unchallenged for decades?

Might be worth a read regarding historical rights and more recent legislation

http://www.inbrief.co.uk/land-law/right-to-roam.htm

You’re going to need a lawyer….

Do you have a right of access in your property deeds ? I used to live on a private unadopted road jointly owned by the 9 houses, we had explcit access permission and a “no parking on the road” clause.

I think you should ask a lawyer. The owner is entitled to do as he wishes with his property subject to any written rights. There is a legal precident about legal access/right of way after a period of continual use (10 or 20 years) but I am not sure about parking. I think he could put rocks/posts out to stop parking if he wanted. Best get some advice then have a chat, if he wants planning then you have some leverage (ie object unless he grants what you want) take care in case he starts to play hardball.

There are only a certain number of dwellings that can be served from a private road. Might be worth investigating.

What state is the road in? Could you and the other residents fronting it open discussions to get it adopted by the local authority?

Without knowing the nature of the proposed development, I wonder if the threat of planning permission being accompanied by a s106 order to bring the road up to standard for adoption might prompt a softening of the owner’s position?

There are only a certain number of dwellings that can be served from a private road. Might be worth investigating.

Yes, I think the recommendation is 5. We’re already up to 9 and the development would take it to 11.

What state is the road in? Could you and the other residents fronting it open discussions to get it adopted by the local authority?

It’s in a pretty poor state. I think adoption has been considered but previously rejected. Shall check out S106.

Maybe planning requires a certain width of road and the parking makes it too narrow.

Definitely a case for getting an opinion from an expert and not STW.

If you were the owner, what would you do?

If you were the owner, what would you do?

Put up a toll barrier at the entrance/exit.

S106 is not the appropriate statute. Planning authority can not force a developer to put a road up for adoption under S38.

Check titles and charges register at land registry for any legal rights. Costs a couple of quid per property and can be done from the safety of your own keyboard.

if it is a private road there is probably no reasonable way for parking to be either permitted or prohibited. Parking on the public highway is controlled by traffic regulation orders (a legal document that states what controls are on the street). It is this that forms the basis upon which parking enforcement can be made. On private land it would be a civil matter.

If people have been parking there for years I would doubt that they have a right to do so simply because they have been doing so for years. However I understand that there are rights of access gained on the principle of there being permitted access for a time, so there may be something similar for parking, but I would doubt it.

if the land owner wants to have access off this lane to a development site he will probably need to demonstrate in his submission to planning that the site can be accessed safely from the public highway via his lane. This will usually mean that two way traffic can move through the access (usually requiring about a minimum 4.8m road width, and that visibility is unobstructed by parked cars. Also there will need to be enough room for a refuse vehicle to get in and access the properties….lots of parked vehicles may be a problem for all of these!

if the access is going off his lane rather than off the public highway it would be unlikely that the new roads for his development would be adopted by the council. If the council were to adopt it the private lane would also need to be adopted, which would mean the developer bringing that road up to adoptable standard….making it more expensive and complicated for them.

If they have submitted a planning application already you can have a look at it via your council’s website (usually called something like ‘planning portal’).

This will usually mean that two way traffic can move through the access (usually requiring about a minimum 4.8m road width, and that visibility is unobstructed by parked cars.

He’s tried to demonstrate this in the proposed block plan but it’s deliberately misleading of the actual reality of the lane. We’re challenging that in our response (measurements, photos etc.) Town council had strong objections on these grounds. Hopefully this will sink the proposal when it goes for approval.

ask them if a ‘Road Safety Audit’ has been carried out on the proposed access arrangements. Also worth asking to see the ‘Transport Statement’.

out of interest what county are you in?

I’ll definitely ask about the road safety audit. I can’t see one in the documentation.

It’s West Berks.

Deadline for comment has passed and a fair few objections submitted from locals regarding the development. Had to laugh as on the last day the applicant himself submitted a letter in support of his own application 😆

Reading this thread reminds me of how glad I moved from our last house and all the issues we had living in a house at the end of an unadopted Somme-like access road.