'I started turning driveway into a garden then neighbour came round'
A homeowner was left gobsmacked after a neighbour he'd never met knocked on his door to confront his nature plan
A homeowner was left gobsmacked after a neighbour confronted him for transforming his gravel driveway into a lush garden. Taking to Reddit, the man sought advice following the unexpected row that had left him quite rattled.
He'd recently moved into his first owned home and decided to buck the trend of paving over front gardens for extra parking. Instead, he wanted to restore his gravelled drive back to a green space because of his love for gardening.
He said that there was ample on-street parking available, as most residents were elderly and the area had excellent transport links, meaning fewer cars were needed.
The man said: "When I bought my house I always wanted to change this back to a front garden as I absolutely love gardens. There isn't a shortage of parking spaces on my street - there's always space for about ten cars along the street stretch each evening, as a lot of the residents are elderly and we're beside very good transport links, so I'm presuming a lot of people just don't have cars."
As he began the work, parking on the road like everyone else, and started replacing gravel with grass, he didn't expect what came next: "I got a knock at the door from a neighbour I'd never met - however he identified himself as living diagonal from me."
"He said he was going to put a complaint in about me if I continued to not use my driveway for my 1 car. One of his first sentences to me was 'I see you seem to be using your driveway as some sort of plant area...' He wanted me to start using my front garden as a driveway like the previous owners and said that's what my driveway was for. I explained to him that it was actually a very tight squeeze for a car and he said the previous owners were able to fit a van in the front drive (which I highly doubt)".
"I asked him if he felt there were a shortage of car spaces and he said no, but said if you have a driveway you should use it!" The homeowner was stunned and felt he was being bullied: "He strikes me as a busybody who just wanted to control the street as he has been living in the street he told me since the 70s.
"I let him know that I was wanting to enjoy my front garden as a front garden, just like he had a front garden. He said he'd be contacting the council. I'm I going to be in trouble? Should I pause work on my garden? This is my first house and I don't want to get into any bother!".
Reddit was quick to rally behind one anxious homeowner with Sean quipping: "Oh no, he's going to call the Driveway Police. Best comply immediately."
Heels chimed in with a bit of humour, saying: "Look, this is serious. There are some very strict laws about converting driveways back into gardens... Oh hold on, there aren't any at all."
Another Reddit user threw in their two cents, suggesting: "Tell him you're going to put a sofa in the garden, sit on it in your dressing gown and drink Stella straight from the can."
The worried homeowner found solace in the comments, later replying: "You are all making me laugh. I've been seriously worried about this since he came to my door."
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