Road with private ownership has had double yellows painted on - where do we park?

[helsbels07]

Along with several of our neighbours, we have been parking our cars on a street just across the road from us for years. (We only have one resident permit for a bay in front of our house, but we have two cars.) This cul de sac has never had any signs restricting parking in any way, and in my mind everyone has always parked in a very orderly way along one side of the street only, never blocking anyone’s access or the pavement. However, last weekend we woke up to find double yellow lines painted along the full length of the road, both sides. When I questioned the council about this, I was told that the street is an unadopted highway under private ownership and that the council has no knowledge of or control over the parking restrictions there. There are still no signs saying it’s a private road, or anything to warn people about parking there - no warnings about clamping or other measures taken against owners of parked cars. There are still gaps in the lines as there were cars parked on the street when the lines were painted, but it’s clear that the owners want all the cars out of their road.

Where do we stand with this? Obviously we have no rights or ownership over the street, but is it now illegal to park there? Can our cars be clamped if there are no warnings, just double yellows, or can we in theory park in the gaps between the lines? I would assume it’s not possible to get a normal parking ticket as the council doesn’t control parking restrictions on this road? I'm not trying to find a way to annoy the owners of the road, but I'm not sure if everything they're doing is legal. We’re also running out of options to park our cars legally as we’re so close to a town centre - I want to know if there’s anything we can do about these new restrictions, as we can’t see any information about it other than the yellow lines on the tarmac. It’s just a side street with access to a few residential buildings. There are some residents’ spaces in front of a garage and at the end of the road, but as far as I know, these have never been used by anyone other than the residents who have permits for these spaces. These parking arrangements would have made us think twice about buying our house, and we're now worried that it will put off potential buyers next time round. Hope someone can help!

[helsbels07]

Just a quick addition as I've heard from the council again. They have not created a Traffic Regulation Order (which would allow the police to issue parking tickets) for the street in question and their view is that "the double yellow lines have been implemented simply as a deterrent by the landowner to prevent what may have been perceived as unhelpful/unwanted parking on their land", i.e. people are less likely to park on double yellows but can't actually get issued with a parking ticket there.

[green_and_mean]

What advice are you after?
If its can I continue to park on my neighbours private property which they pay to maintain against their obvious wishes and not get fined ?
The answer is yes!

If the question is can I morally justify upsetting my neighbours just because I have too many cars to park in my own street? I will leave that up to you to decide.

[MilkTrayMan]

The Council have informed U correctly.
Unless the Land Owner displays prominent notices re: Clamping, it would be illegal for him/her to clamp your car.
If he/she were to do so, they would liable to U seeking legal redress + compensation for the deprivation of your car in the 'De Facto' theft.

Having said that...By parking on what is Private Land, U yourself are committing 'Trespass'.

U have various options available to U...

1/ Continue to park your car as before + hope that the situation dies down/is forgotten about.
2/ Approach the Legal Owner of the Private Road + come to some sort of arrangement to allow U to park with the Owners permission. This may involve payment of an annual Parking Fee for this privilege.
3/ Petition your Local Council for permission to extend parking rights to Residents 'Guests' in unused Parking Bays.
4/ Park one of your two cars elsewhere on a Public Highway. Although this may be some distance from your home, NO-ONE has an automatic right to park directly outside their own home.
5/ Dispose of one of your two cars + share your remaining car/walk/use Public Transport.
6/ Move.

Try thinking of it this way...
Just suppose that U lived in the suburbs + had a home with a wide driveway leading to your garage.
Would U NOT be a tad exasperated if someone continually parked on YOUR drive, even though they weren't directly blocking your access to your garage??!
Is what action U are currently doing any different to that of a 'Pikey'??...

[helsbels07]

Thanks for all your comments. I'd just like to add that we are NOT parking in this street anymore - we moved both of our cars away as soon as the yellow lines appeared. In fact I just accepted that we can't park there anymore and understand very well why the owners have done this, but I wanted to know a bit more about the legalities around it all. At the moment we have one bay in front of our house (the one with the residents' permit) and the other car has to be parked about a block away, but this other street is restricted in the mornings and we're going to face a bit of a problem if one of us has a day off work or when we go on holiday. Not particularly valid arguments in terms of annoyed neighbours having other people's cars parked on their land, but enough to make me investigate it.

I suppose what I really have a problem with is the way they have done it - knowing what time I got home last Friday and what time I left the house on Saturday, they must have done the painting between 9pm and 8am! We had no idea it was a private road (I wouldn't have parked there if that was obvious), there are still no signs or gates saying so, and they're basically trying to scare people away with the yellow lines without giving us any more of an explanation - the only reason I know this much is because I spoke to the council, and only then heard that they had nothing to do with it. If the owners had put up a sign for private road, or one that says vehicles parked there will be clamped, I might be a bit more understanding about it all... then again, it IS private land so I suppose they can do what they like.

[green_and_mean]

Originally Posted by helsbels07

then again, it IS private land so I suppose they can do what they like.

You have hit the nail on the head...it is their land if they want to paint the street pink at 3 in the morning thats up to them! There are a few websites that advertise parking in peoples drives or gardens at a small cost which may be worth investigating see if there is anyone near you or ask a neighbour with a drive if you can rent a space when you go away.