Hi, I'm hobbit54! My partner's neighbour is blocking his drive, how can we stop this?

hobbit54

Hi everyone. 

My partner is disabled and is not in a position to jump in a vehicle and drive whenever he wants to. Chronic pain from injuries mean he has to work up to going out and grab the window of opportunity as and when he can. 

Our neighbours, who we share a driveway with, choose to cause problems for no reason have installed a video camera with a movement sensor which records our every move at the front of our property. When my partner attempts to leave the house they are able to see this and a car will suddenly turn up and block him in, or someone from the house will move one of their vehicles to block him. They choose to leave their vehicle in that particular place (which we own and they only have access across it) even when there are other spaces available. He’s been trying to get out for more than five days but this happens every time.

The police have a chat with them and they behave for 24hrs and then start up again. Private driveways are a Civil matter but I just wondered if anybody has been in a similar situation and can advise or if anyone knows where I can turn to as they know he’s disabled and rarely gets out and now they’re deliberately preventing him from leaving but how do we prove this?

Thank you

Cher_Alumni

@hobbit54 Hello and a warm welcome to our online community, I'm really glad you found us and I hope our collective wisdom can help in this tricky situation. How are you and your partner today?

I'll be honest, this isn't an area in which I'm particularly knowledgeable about however I did some online research and found this advice from the Met Police's website:

Designated parking spaces
If someone has parked in your designated parking space without your permission, our first advice is always to try and resolve the issue peacefully yourself. If you can’t find the driver to speak to them, try leaving a polite note on their windscreen.
If you lease a property with a parking space, please contact whoever is responsible for your building, such as the freeholder, council or managing agent. 
If the issue continues, you can report antisocial behaviour using our online service.

Someone parking on your driveway
If someone parks their vehicle on your driveway without your permission, this is trespassing. This is a civil dispute and not something we can help you with. If it happens repeatedly with the same person / vehicle you might want to seek advice from Citizens Advice or a solicitor, but we would always recommend having a polite word with the driver first, as there may have been a simple misunderstanding.

Someone blocking your driveway
If someone has blocked your driveway so you can’t drive in, we appreciate this can be very frustrating.
If you can find the owner of the vehicle, we’d first recommend asking them politely to move it. If you can’t find them, try leaving a note on their windscreen. After all, they may not realise they have caused a problem.
If this doesn’t work, please contact your local council.
If a person has blocked your driveway and is preventing you from getting your own vehicle out, we may be able to help. You can report antisocial behaviour online.

The first suggestion in each case appears to be trying to come to an amicable outcome verbally however I'm reading in between the lines that due to the police intervention, this hasn't been possible so far. In that case, I'd recommend taking the steps outlined above. 

It must be a source of real frustration and I'm sorry your partner's experiencing this. I really hope some resolution is arrived at quickly for you both. Please let us know how you get on.

ShirleyW

I was just wondering if you or your partner have spoken to them about how difficult it's making things?

Is it possible that it's just coincidence?  Maybe they just don't realise how difficult it is for your partner to get out and about?