My jobsworth council won’t let me build a drive on my land over 40cm… despite SIX other neighbours having one | The Sun

A FURIOUS dad says his jobsworth council won't let him build a drive on his land over 40cm – despite six of his neighbours having one.

HGV driver Paul O'Flynn, 61, from Morley in West Yorkshire, is currently forced to park a quarter of a mile away when parking spaces along his road get "absolutely rammed" on local match days.

Paul asked Leeds City Council to drop the kerb so he could knock down his front wall and build his very own driveway.

But the council told him that the planned driveway was 40cm too small – and that reversing out of it would be "unsafe".

When the fuming dad-of-one appealed, the council said that the driveway would block a potential escape route from the property – despite his front door being to the side. 

Adding salt to the wound, Paul said a number of his neighbours have been granted permission to build their own driveways – and they reverse out of them onto the road. 

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Paul said: "The council have been jobsworths. It's very, very annoying, the reasons are very petty. 

"All the points – reversing onto the main road, which is 'dangerous', the fire escape, which is 'dangerous' and the overhang, which could be 'dangerous', those are just pathetic really. 

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"I can't understand what the problem with health and safety is if I'm going to be reversing in.

"If the other neighbours are reversing out, I don't see what their point is on that. 

"I've been frustrated and angry about it. With how ridiculous the council have been, it sums up how daft UK planning red tape can be. 

"If you have a look at the way I want to put my car in, it's really easy, it would it in perfectly, so I can't see what their problem is.  

"And you do see other places where cars are in like how I want it to be and they've been passed, so it is ridiculous. It's really really stupid." 

Paul claims his application for a dropped kerb was rejected due to the space being 4.6 metres long instead of five and that reversing out of it would be 'unsafe'. 

The VW Tiguan driver, who is hoping to eventually downsize, claims the council never asked what size car he had.

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Paul said: "They said it was dangerous to drive or reverse on to the road because of the traffic and the people around. 

"I thought it was stupid because there's like four people opposite that reverse out onto the same road. 

"They said it was a fire escape hazard, he must have thought I had a door on the front but it's on the side, which is no problem whatsoever. 

He added: "They said that parking in effect parallel to the footway itself creates problems in manoeuvring. They must think I can't drive, I am a wagon driver, but yeah. 

"If they don't think I can reverse into a space that's big enough to get a car in, obviously then there's obviously something wrong with them isn't there?

"I'll probably give up and after a couple of years will knock the wall down and drive the car in anyway. 

"I don't want to do anything illegal so I'll probably just have to give up eventually if nothing happens." 

A Leeds City Council spokesman said: "Like many highway authorities, we produce guidance notes for such proposals and generally speaking, will seek to support these requests provided they are safe and appropriate. 

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"We assess each request on a location by location basis. The minimum standards are clearly set out in the guidance note, as is the non-refundable inspection fee. 

"In this particular case, the site has been visited, the minimum standards have not been met and the applicant has been informed of this decision on more than one occasion." 

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