People keep parking on the grass verge outside my house. It annoys me and it blocks my view. Can I erect wooden posts on the verge to stop the parking?
The first issue is ownership of the verge. If the verge is owned by Highways England, or your local authority then you cannot erect posts on it. You can work out who owns the verge by checking the Land Registry plan, although this does not always guarantee the exact boundaries of your property.
If you do own the land, you could erect some wooden posts, providing your property title does not contain a restrictive covent forbidding 'blocking, obstruction or obscuring'.
If you don't own the land there are two options. There may be a chance you can claim some kind of posessory title. In order to do this you must be the sole user of the land in public view to the exclusions of all others and over a period of 10 years.
It will be difficult to claim this successfully but it could be an opportunity. If your local authority or Highways England own the land, then you could explain that the parking has become a nuisance and ask that parking prevention measures are put in place.
However if the owner of the verge has consented to the parking or does not agree to change the current arrangements then unfortunately it will prove difficult to find a remedy.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
