Our neighbours paved over their garden to create parking area…but we’ve got revenge thanks to council action
PARENTS have managed to get revenge on their neighbours after they paved over their garden to create a parking area.
Youngsters were being put in danger during the school-run after the homeowner in question replaced the grassy area at the front of their home with a driveway – directly opposite a designated crossing.
Children from St George’s CofE Academy, in Darlington, County Durham, used the drop kerb area with the supervision of a lollypop lady.
But a couple living opposite recently risked blocking the section of tactile pavement, which was installed in 2018, by installing the drive.
Concerns were raised by worried mums and dads instantly as they feared a car accessing the drive could knock down kids.
As parents branded the revamp a “joke”, the council were forced to step in.
Darlington Borough Council (DBC) installed two bollards at the entrance preventing the owners from driving their cars over the crossing.
It comes after the council said they hadn’t been informed about the change.
One mum, 30, told The Sun Online: “Obviously parking cars in a place where you have to drive over a kids’ crossing point to get out is potentially dangerous and could cause an accident.”
Katrina Hughes, 44, who lives nearby and whose three children used to attend the school, added: “It is a crossing point for children, so building a car parking area there is a bad idea.”
Tracy Jennings, 55, said: “I personally, don’t have a problem with it, but I can see why the council has put bollards there.
“It is not rocket science to realise that the area has been paved to park cars on, and putting bollards there is a way to stop that happening and means a kid won’t maybe get knocked over.”
Paul Woodcock, 63, said: “I can see why the council has put the bollards there.
“It is a crossing for pedestrians and the place where the school children cross.”
But one mum said the bollards were not enough.
The 28-year-old said: “The whole thing is a joke really.
“The owner should not have gone ahead with the building work without getting permission and the council should have come up with a better solution than sticking bollards there.
“I’m astonished it has got this far.”
The owner of the home previously said she had not been able to use her car in months because of the bollards.
She said: “I didn’t initially know you couldn’t drive over [the crossing] and we only had the driveway done at the end of March.
“A highways inspector drove past, stopped, and told my husband he was legally not allowed to park there.
“We did have grass and a footpath but the tree roots completely uplifted it, so we installed the paved driveway.
“We were totally naïve and just assumed as it was a dropped kerb we would be able to use it.”
A letter from DBC in May stated bollards would be installed if the path was damaged, in an attempt to stop vehicles driving over it.
The woman added: “This was just a warning sign, we haven’t used it since, yet they still came and installed the bollards.”
In response, the council said it wasn’t alerted that the driveway would be paved and if they were, would have warned residents.
The couple’s car is now parked on a neighbouring street and hasn’t been used since March.
The woman added: “I feel like we’ve been made an example of and discriminated against.
“I don’t think they needed to go to this extreme, I’m so embarrassed.
“It just looks awful and whenever I look out the window I’m faced with this. I keep my blinds closed now.”
PARK STRIFE
During school-run hours, a lollipop lady tries to manage the traffic on the crossing.
A DBC spokesperson said the woman didn’t contact the Highway Authority before installing the driveway – and if she had, she would have been told it wasn’t allowed because of the crossing.
They added: “There must be a properly constructed vehicle crossing if residents want to park on a driveway.
“The location must be inspected by the Highways Authority to ensure it is safe.
“We always try to accommodate requests but there are occasions when we have to refuse, for example, if it’s close to a junction or crossing.
“On this occasion the resident did not contact the Highway Authority before building their block paving.
“If they had, they would have been advised that a vehicle crossing would not be allowed due to the existing crossing, which is also a school crossing patrol location and has been for many years.
“We have been in discussions with the resident for several months and have explored the possibility of moving the crossing point but this has not been possible due to on street parking, bus stops and nearby road junctions.
“The resident told us they would be extending their fence to close the gap but this has not happened so reluctantly we have had to install bollards to prevent cars driving over the footpath.
“It is regretful that we were unable to help this resident but we have a duty of care to keep everyone safe.”