People putting stuff on the verge

[Construction Channel]

AFAIC it is fly tipping, i read through links earlier on my phone stating the highways own from "hedge to hedge" on the surface at least ("on phone" hence not linking here), the subsoil seems a bit of a grey area allowing the Highways agency to pass the blame on when it comes to falling branches and so on but that is not what I'm moaning about now,

 

Now here is the issue, Some Pr1ck (i won't name him) down the road from me keeps putting stuff on the side of the road to try and stop people driving on "HIS" grass. For a good few years now I have been removing his "stuff" and putting it back on his drive (mainly when i am walking back from the pub) partially out of spite but mainly because i don't like him and I'm fairly sure he shouldn't be doing it,

 

the reason i raise this issue now is that he has started putting rather large tree stumps on the verge and i got fairly dirty piling them up against his gate tonight, 

 

laughing and joking aside he lives on a corner/bend and there have been times where i have met oncoming lorries nearly on my side of the road, i understand the lorry drivers position because of the shape of the road but now that he has put such large obstacles in the way I simply will not be able to avoid them, if i meet a lorry in the same situation as before i will almost undoubtably write my van off whatever direction i decide to swerve. God forbid Faye has to make that decision in the car. also about 15 yards after his 2' cubes of tree there is a telegraph pole so once again if someone did hit his stumps there is a good chance of a serious injury.

 

my question is is there anything I can do legally ( without solicitors ) to stop him from doing it?

 

 

[PeterW]

It's an offence under the Highways Act 1980 to obstruct the verge as it constitutes part of the highway - see below :

 

 

According to the Highways Act 1980 ( Section 148 and Section 149) it is an offence if ‘a person deposits any thing whatsoever on a highway to the interruption of any user of the highway without lawful authority or excuse or if the thing “constitutes a nuisance” ‘ or constitutes a “danger to users of the highway (including a danger caused by obstructing the view)” then they they can remove it without delay and recover the cost of removal from the owner.

 

It's a matter for your local highways department or your local police as it's obstruction. Take photos and pass the problem on ...

[ProDave]

So you would rather he didn't put anything there, and the lorries use the "verge" as part of the "road" and it turns into a rutted, muddy chewed up mess? That is what he is trying to avoid, to make the place look nicer. Try and see it from his viewpoint.

 

I had this discussion with the highways about what is "the road" and "the verge" and it appears in the case of unfenced land, they can claim the first 3 metres from the edge of the road is "the verge" and therefore part of the highway. If, as we do, you own the land right up to the road, then the solution is to fence it right at the edge od what you own and then it is no longer "the verge"

 

I have a row of large stones along the edge of my plot at the moment to stop cars and lorries driving onto the grass until I decide how and where I am going to fence the edge
 

[PeterW]

13 minutes ago, ProDave said:

So you would rather he didn't put anything there, and the lorries use the "verge" as part of the "road" and it turns into a rutted, muddy chewed up mess?

 

Without seeing the road it's impossible to comment but if it's on a bend then there is a significant safety aspect - forcing large vehicles to take evasive action on a bend is dangerous at best and I would hazard a guess it doesn't happen that often but it only needs to happen once to cause a life changing accident. 

[ProDave]

2 minutes ago, PeterW said:

 

Without seeing the road it's impossible to comment but if it's on a bend then there is a significant safety aspect - forcing large vehicles to take evasive action on a bend is dangerous at best and I would hazard a guess it doesn't happen that often but it only needs to happen once to cause a life changing accident.

Sounds like it is a dangerous bend, and the highways ought to sort it out and use a bit of the verge to widen the road then.  A situation where the only "safe" way to negotiate it is drive on the verge, is not acceptable.
 

[Triassic]

I'd ring up the council and report that someone has fly tipped the tree trunks on the verge, tell them about you nearly fell over the, when walking home in the dark. No doubt the fly tipping team will deal with them. If the rubbish reappears, call the council again, and so on.

[Stones]

I can't recall ever receiving or dealing with a complaint about stones etc being placed on a verge causing an obstruction.  I certainly saw plenty of examples when out and about, and very much as ProDave says, they all seemed to be there to keep the place tidy and neat.  

 

If they are presenting a hazard then I would suggest calling your local Roads Dept (or whoever is responsible for the road) and the Police and let them assess.  It may look like a hazard to you, and the road may need re-engineered, but the reality may simply be that drivers are choosing to cut the corner / drive in the centre of the road rather than actually reading the road and road markings and negotiating the bend at the appropriate speed.  Driver error is by far and away the main cause of incidents on the road, not the road itself.

[dogman]

We had a 3m strip outside our last self build. We knew it was council land and it had all the services in it. We put posts in as cars would park on it and turn it into mud. Two weeks later a letter arrived from highways basically " move your posts or we will and charge you"

We did 

[joe90]

Well I am still going down this road with my new build. Our "mr nasty" neighbour who has objected to everything, accused us of breaking planning law etc etc. (All been negated at winning our planning appeal) whoever my drive is on a narrow road opposite his house and the council have allowed me to extend my splay for resonable access but mr nasty has put posts in the verge to stop lorries turning into my drive, not by driving on the grass but stopping the overhang of the lorries cab etc. If he had stones the lorry cab would oversail them no problem. I tried to get highways involved but frankly they are too busy or cannot be bothered. My local best friend, the farmer who is "re locating" all my clay for me tells me he is on the parish council and has dealt with this issue before. The verge is in essence what we have in towns as pavement, a walkway for people and horses and as such is not to be blocked. Stones painted white are considered ok but posts a hazard and strictly not allowed. My neighbour reckons he owns the verge and is on his deeds but highways say this is highly unlikely on a single track road and so might even be rescinded. Any way the parish council have formally tasked highways with dealing with the problem so I am expecting them to disappear soon(ish). I agree that it's a shame to see verges rutted badly ( we get a lot of that around us as its very rural with lots of tractors and large trailers. I have heard that the council will in some circumstances put plastic bendy posts in on such locations that won't cause people or cars damage but do indicate the edge of the tarmac. 

[Construction Channel]

Thanks guys. I suppose I should have taken a picture before I moved them. Widening the road surface would definitely be the most sensible solution. 

 

The thing is he is on the outside of the bend. So the only time it gets driven on is when avoiding lorries or tractors. Also when he used to put "stones" (chunks of 4" concrete blocks) it would have been a bit of a shock but very unlikely to flip/write off the car. These new chunks of tree are going to cause some serious damage in the wrong situation. 

[SteamyTea]

10 minutes ago, Construction Channel said:

Thanks guys. I suppose I should have taken a picture before I moved them

Put them back tonight, take pictures in the morning.

Then tomorrow night, move them again.

Keep doing that for a week and he will the=ink that he is going a bit mad.

 

You could post him the legislation in an official looking envelope (brown with a window).

[Construction Channel]

ill see where or if he puts them back, It is a dodgy bend whatever direction you come at it from, and i can understand he wants to keep his grass looking nice, white stones are not uncommon around here and TBF i didn't move them when they were just chunks of block. he just doesnt seem to think those were enough so has taken it up a level which is the bit i have got a problem with. It doesnt help that I don't like him. 

 

lets see if he takes the hint. 

[ToughButterCup]

Ed, there's nowt to be done. Let it go. 

Don't let him see that his behaviour gets under your skin. Rise above it.

People like that are an excellent exercise in self-control.

Ian