Give me my space

IT'S happening all over London. Residents are resorting to increasingly ingenious methods of ensuring they have somewhere to leave the family car by putting up barricades around "their" parking space.

Usually, it's either wheelie bins or planks of wood but stolen police cones and even makeshift scaffolding structures are now being used to protect what residents believe is home ground.

It's an understandable reaction, but it's also illegal, and legal experts are warning that it could land the offending residents in court where they could be fined up to pounds 1,000 for causing an obstruction.

Worse, it could also leave them open to being sued if someone injures themselves or damages their car on a makeshift barrier that has been unlawfully placed on the road.

The AA considers it to be a nationwide problem but it is particularly bad in the capital due to the difficulty drivers often face finding a parking space close to home.

However, the AA warns that, no matter what the temptation, it's far better to park a few minutes' walk away rather than try to claim a piece of the road as your own.

"A lot of people put cones out but many don't realise they're breaking the law. You have no legal right to park on the public highway outside your house," says AA legal adviser Iain Murray.

"Theoretically, anyone can park there so long as they are complying with the regulations - it's a case of first-come-first- served.

He added that putting "no parking" signs or notices out on the road was also illegal - unless it's your property, you can't stop anyone using that space.

But some motorists stand by their decision to reserve a spot.

Wheelchair user and mother of two, Poppy Hasted, 41, from Herne Hill, has a designated disabled space outside her home but finds other cars repeatedly park either on or too close to it.

This can make it difficult for her to get access to her car in the narrow street, so she sometimes puts out a wheelie bin or even traffic cones to stop her space being stolen.

She said: "It's vital that I can use the parking spot properly, but it's often impossible because of the selfishness of other drivers.

Hardly a day goes by when someone doesn't park on or too near the space."

She added: "I feel justified reserving it as there's nothing else I can do.

When I complain to Lambeth Council they say the police should deal with it, but the police say it's the council's job.

It's extremely frustrating."

Although it's a criminal offence to obstruct the road, police normally pass on any complaints to the local council.

Usually a friendly warning from the local council is enough to deter most road-blockers but sometimes the damage can already be done.

Pedestrians and cyclists who injure themselves tripping over an obstacle placed in the road, together with drivers who accidentally damage their cars, have a good case for suing whoever put the obstruction there.

Local authorities take a tough line against people trying to reserve parking places. A spokesman for Camden Council said: "If people try to block off the road to bag their own parking space it is an offence against the Highways Act 1980.

"If we receive complaints, we will remove whatever is blocking the road, charge whoever put it there for the cost of removing it and consider prosecution."

He said one resident had actually painted a yellow line on the road outside his house in a bid to fool other drivers.

When it was discovered, he was made to pay for the cost of cleaning the Tarmac.

Copyright 2002
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