Storing caravan in garden
Hi,
Not sure where best to put this question, but I am looking at viewing a house where the owners currently have a caravan which they store in their garden. It looks nice and secure and we would also like to do the same if the house is ok. I asked them how they get it in there and they said that they take it over the public path into a gate in the fence.
I just wondered if this was generally allowed or legal?I was thinking as it isn’t powered it’s not the same as driving a car over a path?
Thanks,
Laura
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apply to local council to drop the curb, cost you a few hundred pounds but you will know you are legal then and it will make it easier to reverse in either with car or motormover.
You cannot do this yourself you apply to council they will do mini survey and say yeh or nay then send contractors round to do the job. Rules re the procedure vary from council to council.
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Hello M.
We used to motor move our van about ten yards along a public footpath adjacent to our property and into the rear garden via a gate at the rear. No real issues at the time but we were conscious that, if the council decided to install concrete bollards, we'd be snookered so we removed that gate.
We now motor move the van nose in first, from the roadway across the footpath at a dropped kerb and onto our own property and then manoeuvre it round the back.
We always have to ensure that whenever we move the van onto the road that no pedestrians are endangered and always stop to allow them right of way.
Without a picture, it's difficult to envisage your particular situation but it could be an issue if you're taking your van any distance on the footpath. Presumably the current neighbours are content with things as they are so wouldn't be likely to complain if you did similar.
My neighbours on both sides also have touring caravans; one reverses onto his level driveway whilst the other also motor moves his nose in first down a sloping driveway. We all have dropped kerbs.
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Another advantage with having a dropped kerb is that no one should park alongside it as to do so would be classed as causing an obstruction.
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We were told that it is legal and a dropped kerb is not necessary. We had a purpose built hardstanding of concrete laid beside the house a number of years ago and use 2 specialised ramps to get it down onto the road. I reverse it up onto the area when putting it back, again using the ramps.
The council told me that I would need to drop the kerb if the "vehicle" being stored was motorised, ie a Motorhome, but not if it's just a caravan.
You will have to check with your own council plus check any covenants that might apply.
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Suppliers of our Moulded Rubber Kerb Ramps.
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This is a classic dilemma. Do you try and do everything officially or do you just carry on as the previous owner has? Depending on the local authority there can be some rules which which might work against you. The guidance from our Council is that a dropped kerb won't be allowed unless the parking lost by lowering the kerb is restored beyond the kerb so there is no loss of parking, a bit more difficult to argue with a caravan compared to a car! This might not apply to all councils of course. Some councils will insist when the kerb is dropped that the pavement is suitably reinforced. Will you need to just take the caravan across a pavement or will it also involve crossing other land owned by the council however narrow? It might be an idea to look at the planning portal for the authority where the house is situated as they are bound to have some information on dropped kerbs. I am not one usually to suggest that people don't do things the proper way but if the current owner has successfully established a custom and use procedure it would be tempting to continue with the same unless told otherwise?
David
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We were told that it is legal and a dropped kerb is not necessary.
Ditto, but i built a purpose built hard standing and widened the entrance/exit by removing some fencing, so asked council to extend existing dropped curb, made it so much easier to manouvre in/out. But as i said all councils have different rules, especially if you live an area where parking is difficult any way.
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25 years ago our existing bit mac drive needed replacing. I took the opportunity to widen the gateway before having the old removed and a new bit mac drive installed. There were contractors in the area dressing the footway and so as my drive was to be replaced offered the foreman opportunity to park his bitumen browser and tractor behind locked gates on our drive. I also supplied chocie biscuits and brews ( I was off work after a cancer opp). I asked him if one of the lads fancied a foreigner widening our dropped crossing. He came back with a price and I said fine. Felt sorry for the guy breaking out the old kerb race as it is normally a class E mix and easy to break out. with a compressor driven breaker. The kerb race in this instance looked more suited for a bridge deck. Didn't break out in pieces but as dust.
I squared up through the foreman the next day and said that I thought the lad deserved a bit more as it was harder than he would have expected or I as a highway engineer. His boss said no as he had set a price and it was luck of the draw. I gave the lad a pack of stubby Belgium beers.
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