A woman took to Mumsnet after growing tired of a 10-year dispute with a neighbour over parking. She explained that her selfish neighbour keeps putting traffic cones outside her home so residents can't park in the spot.
The woman claims that her neighbour deliberately blocks off a potential parking spot that she doesn't use – on a public road – so that nobody can park in front of her house. She explained that she took the matter up with the council and police and knows that her neighbour's actions are not legal. Under the Highways Act 1980 it is an offence to obstruct a public highway without permission.
On the 'Am I being unreasonable' discussion thread the woman asked how she could end the decade-long dispute. She said: "See the thing is, we live in a cul-de-sac. Every house has an allocated parking spot and we have several visitor spots (families with multiple cars use these visitor spots as permanent parking spots and it doesn't appear to be an issue with anyone including me). My neighbour has an allocated parking spot at the back of her house but due to her mobility issues she parks in front of her house on a public highway – again, no issues with this.
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"There is still space for another vehicle to be able to park directly parallel to her with no issues of blocking her car or her house. Yet she has proceeded to block off this empty potential parking space because she doesn't want anyone 'parking in front of her house' – bear in mind, this is a public highway. No one can reserve rights to a public highway."
She added: "Living in a cul-de-sac, naturally parking is tight despite the allocated spots we have. Households do sometimes have more than one vehicle and everyone else on the street is incredibly understanding.
"However this woman has proceeded to put CONES in an empty slot on the public highway, not reserving it for any reason as she has one car. No daily visitors – her sole reason is: 'I don't want anyone parking in front of my house'. IT'S A PUBLIC HIGHWAY".
The woman claims she's at her "wits' end" and claims the neighbour continues to harass her family, construction workers, and delivery drivers who parked in the spot. She added that the situation has begun to "irritate" her as she's adding another vehicle to their household.
The post continued: "The straw that broke the camel's back was this week when we had a lovely gentleman come out...to do measurements for my blinds. She left a note on his car and yelled at him when he left my property.
"I've spoken to the local council and they have confirmed that no-one can reserve rights to a public highway. I've spoken to the police and they have confirmed that this is illegal. I've sought legal advice, which again confirmed my perspective.
"What on earth do I do with these cones? We work seven days a week in my household and coming home after a long shift and moving cones to park my car is proving tiresome! It's not even the inconvenience, it's the AUDACITY!
"Am I being unreasonable? What would you suggest? What would you do with these cones? I want to put them in my boot and dump them 500 miles from my house. Any advice on this issue would be helpful."
The majority of Mumsnet users agreed with the woman that the neighbour was being unreasonable. One woman said: "Just take them away. Every single time. Then sell your giant cone mountain to the council." Another suggested: "Throw the cones in her garden every time. Do not enable her behaviour." Another added: "I’d take a cone away each evening until there’s none left!"
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