'Private Road : No Parking' Or Not.

[Justin Smith 10]

Can we just remind everyone, an unadopted road is NOT a private road and residents have no right whatsoever to put up signs saying "NO parking : Residents only" (or whatever) *. Some really cheeky residents go one stage further and even put signs outside their own houses saying, for example, "Parking for number 62 only".

We can all empathise with residents who can't find anywhere to park, I used to live near the Wednesday ground so know what it's like. But the fact remains that the only people who have a right to a parking space are those with their own off road parking space.

 

Which are the worst roads in Sheffield for this kind of thing ?
I nominate Arundel Road - Chapeltown.

 

* I contacted Sheffield council's "Traffic Regulations Group" and they confirmed everything I have said.

[andysm 17]

Depends. If the road has been designated a highway then you are correct. If it is not a designated highway I think it is up to the owner to decide who can park there (being unadopted doesn't mean it does not have an owner). Also it is possible the residents have an easement that allows residents to use the road. The situation isn't quite as simple as you think it is.

[Centrepin 0]

I thought "unadopted" meant the highways were not responsible for the upkeep and only that. Unless I'm wrong, its normally a temporary thing while new estates are under construction and then the highways "adopt" them. Occasionally they remain unadopted for years due to disputes between construction companies and the highways agency.

 

Parking would be a different matter. If unadopted I would presume the normal highways parking laws could not be enforced. Therefore a resident could request you not to park for a multitude of reasons, especially if they are paying for its upkeep. Normal trespass law would be enforced. 

 

Private roads are just that, private, and would probably be covered by trespass law. The only private roads I'm aware of that don't permit public access are normally gated and the highways agency have no responsibility for them.

 

Of course that's just my opinion and maybe wrong.

Edited January 12, 2020 by Centrepin
Auto correct spells wrong

[andysm 17]

It is possible for an unadopted road to be a highway, in which case the normal highway parking laws would apply. For unadopted roads there are 3 options:

1. Unadopted road which is a highway

2. Unadopted road which is not a highway but which the public have access to (but not necessarily for parking)

3. Unadopted road which is not a highway and with no public access

 

[Justin Smith 10]

14 hours ago, andysm said:

Depends. If the road has been designated a highway then you are correct. If it is not a designated highway I think it is up to the owner to decide who can park there (being unadopted doesn't mean it does not have an owner). Also it is possible the residents have an easement that allows residents to use the road. The situation isn't quite as simple as you think it is.

There should be some sort of official notices / signs about whether a road is actually private or not and the parking law regarding it.

I checked with the council about Arundel Rd, and the residents have no more right to park on it than anyone else, just like a "normal" road. And all those notices like "Number 62 private parking space" are illegal. Saying "Private road no parking" is a lie and the residents concerned should be warned to take down those notices then, if they don't, they should be prosecuted. The reason I checked on this was a friend of mine parked on that road and got a resident giving her a hard time about it. It was confirmed to me that the resident had no right to do that whatsoever, cheeky sod. I wanted to be prepared with an answer if they ever tried it on with me.

There are arguments on both sides about whether residents should have a right to park outside their house, but on balance there is no practical way to introduce such a system other than parking permit schemes*, thus everyone should be treated fairly. People can park outside my house (though not across my drive obviously), and I in turn have the right to park outside other people's houses.

 

* which, ironically, not all residents are in favour of because they have to pay for them ! But even a parking permit scheme doesn't give you the right to any particular parking space.

Edited January 12, 2020 by Justin Smith

[andysm 17]

So it sounds like the road you mentioned is a highway. I hope the residents or owner have public liability insurance, on google street view the road seems to be in a poor state of repair.

[geared 303]

On 12/01/2020 at 11:14, Justin Smith said:

There should be some sort of official notices / signs about whether a road is actually private or not and the parking law regarding it.

I checked with the council about Arundel Rd, and the residents have no more right to park on it than anyone else, just like a "normal" road. And all those notices like "Number 62 private parking space" are illegal. Saying "Private road no parking" is a lie and the residents concerned should be warned to take down those notices then, if they don't, they should be prosecuted. The reason I checked on this was a friend of mine parked on that road and got a resident giving her a hard time about it. It was confirmed to me that the resident had no right to do that whatsoever, cheeky sod. I wanted to be prepared with an answer if they ever tried it on with me.

There are arguments on both sides about whether residents should have a right to park outside their house, but on balance there is no practical way to introduce such a system other than parking permit schemes*, thus everyone should be treated fairly. People can park outside my house (though not across my drive obviously), and I in turn have the right to park outside other people's houses.

 

* which, ironically, not all residents are in favour of because they have to pay for them ! But even a parking permit scheme doesn't give you the right to any particular parking space.

 

Have you reported these signs to the council?  They should go round and make sure they're removed, obviously you can't have any idiot putting up their own road signs.

 

I reported one in Leeds a while back, they went round the next day and got it removed.

Edited January 13, 2020 by geared

[ivan edake 13]

It's even worse at Castleton. There are two public roads in the centre of the villageThese roads are free parking for anyone but most of  the residents have" private parking only" notices on their wall or window.These are of course, as worthless as the paper they are written on ,but the residents are now putting cones on the road which I believe is totally illegal.Last year I did move a couple and parked but I was immediately confronted by an old woman who told me this was her house so that piece of road was also hers so I had to go.I could see she was too daft to argue with so I went,after all Castleton has very little to keep me there.

[nightrider 13]

19 hours ago, ivan edake said:

It's even worse at Castleton. There are two public roads in the centre of the villageThese roads are free parking for anyone but most of  the residents have" private parking only" notices on their wall or window.These are of course, as worthless as the paper they are written on ,but the residents are now putting cones on the road which I believe is totally illegal.Last year I did move a couple and parked but I was immediately confronted by an old woman who told me this was her house so that piece of road was also hers so I had to go.I could see she was too daft to argue with so I went,after all Castleton has very little to keep me there.

Have seen similar signs in Hathersage, which I ignore. If they wanted private parking they should have bought a house that comes with it, rather than trying to annexe public land.

[alchresearch 214]

Only problem with ignoring mental irate residents is the risk of damage to your car.  Look at what they do to holidaymakers' cars near Manchester and Liverpool airports:

 

 

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-44292537

 

 

https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/liverpool-john-lennon-airport-parking-14120463

 

 

[Planner1 428]

20 hours ago, ivan edake said:

 the residents are now putting cones on the road which I believe is totally illegal.

Yes, it constitutes placing an unauthorised obstruction in the highway.

 

In Sheffield, report them to Streets Ahead and Amey will remove them. In Derbyshire, Derbyshire County Council are the Highway Authority so you'd report cones in the highway  to them.

[nightrider 13]

14 minutes ago, Planner1 said:

Yes, it constitutes placing an unauthorised obstruction in the highway.

 

In Sheffield, report them to Streets Ahead and Amey will remove them. In Derbyshire, Derbyshire County Council are the Highway Authority so you'd report cones in the highway  to them.

is there someone to report parking issues to? e.g. around Walkley there are a number of junctions where residents insist on parking right on the corners.....I have seen numerous near miss accidents due to the lack of visibility caused by this bad parking. IIRC the highway code forbids parking near junctions, not sure if this is enforceable or not though?