Advice Please - Driveway Idea / Private Road

[SamH86]

Hello

 

We have moved into a property where driveway permission was declined due to their being a tree outside the property and also the depth of land between house and road meaning it'll be very expensive to do the work outside of property before we even talk about the actual driveway.

 

I have an idea that I doubt is strictly legal, but shouldn't cause anyone any trouble.

 

There is a private road (which we and dozens others own (do not know who but at least 20 houses back onto the road)) that runs down the side of our house. It is definitely privately owned (appears on our deeds) and is nothing to do with the council. There is no kerb either side of the road so it butts up to our wall. My plan is to take out a portion of our wall (highlighted red on picture) allowing access to our front garden (and build a drive)

 

There are several garages at the back of people's houses which are all accessed via this road but no driveway. 

 

It'll only cost about a grand to achieve so I'm thinking of just doing it and facing any consequences...

 

*UPDATE*: this is from our deeds -

 

"Together with the right with others entitled thereto to use the said Occupation Road situate on the east side of the land hereby conveyed the purchaser paying a fair proportion in common with others entitled to use the said Occupation Road of the expense of maintaining  and keeping the same in repair  And together with the full and free right of passage and running of water and soil through the drain running under the adjoining land of the Vendors into the main sewer in Test Road."

 

Any thoughts? 

 

Thanks,

SH

Edited August 2, 2022 by SamH86

[Mr Punter]

So will you park widthways across the house?  It looks doable.  As you are not creating a new access from the highway you may not require consent.  It may be better to reverse in.

[Chanmenie]

Why not make it easier and remove that great big corner pillar  you can easily reverse in then.

Edited August 2, 2022 by Chanmenie

[Jilly]

Removing the pillar would spoil the symmetry and might draw attention to it. Will you have to support the remaining wall or is that what the pillar is doing? I think I might buy a small car...

[SamH86]

1 hour ago, Mr Punter said:

So will you park widthways across the house?  It looks doable.  As you are not creating a new access from the highway you may not require consent.  It may be better to reverse in.

 

Yep, exactly that. We'd drive up from the left of the picture, past the house, reverse in. Drive straight out. 

 

43 minutes ago, Chanmenie said:

Why not make it easier and remove that great big corner pillar  you can easily reverse in then.

 

Trying to avoid having any opening on the public footpath, and would then be too easy to drive over the paving for the blind. 

 

18 minutes ago, Jilly said:

Removing the pillar would spoil the symmetry and might draw attention to it. Will you have to support the remaining wall or is that what the pillar is doing? I think I might buy a small car...

 

There's a smaller pillar to the left of my red mark and a bigger pillar to the right, we are taking out a middle section. 

 

The gap is actually almost 12 foot wide! - dodgy camera angle. 

 

Thanks all. Appreciate your time. 

Edited August 2, 2022 by SamH86

[Gone West]

15 hours ago, SamH86 said:

Any thoughts?

Does your front garden already have a large enough paved area to park your car or do you intend to create a paved area. If you pave the front garden your LPA might have questions about runoff and drainage if someone dobs you in.

[ProDave]

Presuming the private access road goes all the way to the back, would it not be better to make your parking space in the back garden?

[Ferdinand]

I can see the utility, but I'm with Dave on suggesting the back garden as perhaps better. This front one you may be across the pavement at an angle when pulling out.

 

I might be inclined to a brief and inexpensive meeting with a Planning Consultant (say one hour), just to explore if there are better options.

 

If you still in time I think you may win the other one on Appeal - which is free.

 

Not sure how tight it is and it may be deceptive - I would do a layout in a quiet time at a car park with a couple of cones and a space, just to make sure there is ample turning space on to the private road.  Or measure it against the standard diagrams in the policy docs.

 

Are you a conservation area? Might complicate at the front/side.

 

ATB.

 

Ferdinand