The guy a few houses up from us decided to pave over his front garden to make more parking (a common occurrence in London). He now has a very nice paved area in front of his house--the stone-paving type, not tarmac.
Slight problem: He didn't sort out access from the council. So in front of this lovely parking area is the pavement (sidewalk) and then the grass verge and curb. He hasn't let that stop him, though: he has a 4x4! So he drives over the curb and the grass to park (creating a nice muddy swath). As far as the rest of the road is concerned (and probably Barnet council), there's a curb and there is still free street parking. As far as HE is concerned, he "owns" that bit of curb now. Neil saw him yelling at someone for parking in front of his "driveway".
I'm debating whether or not to contact the council. Is there anything they can actually do? I don't know if it's illegal to convert your front garden without permission. I wouldn't be at all upset if they made the moron dig up all his expensive paving ;)
(The parking problem in our road is a separate issue--really, Barnet council shouldn't let anyone park here, as with cars parked it's too narrow for 2 cars to pass and it creates a major rat run. The residents of Woodside Park and Finchley prefer to complain about the 326 bus instead, though. It's futile as it's the only route through the area and there's no alternative streets, but hey, there's a lot of selfish well-off drivers here. There is room to widen our road--the verge and pavement are very, very wide--but it would involve cutting down trees, so it won't happen.)
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