Nuisance parking and abandoned vehicles

Here you can learn more about nuisance parking and abandoned vehicles and what to do if it’s affecting you.

Abandoned vehicles are often confused with nuisance vehicles which might be poorly parked, causing an obstruction, broken down, untaxed or involved in residential parking disputes. An abandoned vehicle is one that appears to have been given up on, with no apparent owner.

Abandoned vehicles can cause a nuisance by obstructing roads, traffic and pedestrians. The sight of a damaged or slowly rusting car can also be an eyesore in your community, so it’s understandable you might want it to be removed.

What you can do about abandoned vehicles

North Somerset council only have powers to deal with abandoned vehicles, so if a vehicle is untaxed but not abandoned then we won’t be able to remove it. Instead, untaxed vehicles should be reported online to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA).

Similarly, the council can’t remove a vehicle involved in parking disputes, MOT or insurance issues. These should be reported to Avon and Somerset Police online or by calling 101.

Report an abandoned vehicle

If a parking space is available on a public road, even if it’s directly outside your house, anyone is allowed to park in it.

You do not have any rights to the section of road or pavement outside your property (unless there are local parking restrictions giving a right to a particular space).  This means you do not have the right to park there yourself or prevent anyone else from doing so.  

We appreciate this can be frustrating, especially if spaces are hard to come by on your street. However, there is nothing the Police or Council can do.

If a vehicle is preventing you from being able to park or get your vehicle off your driveway, the police may be able to help.

You should try to find the owner and ask them to move the vehicle before reporting.

Report a vehicle obstruction to the Police

If the vehicle is causing an obstruction or hazard by:

• parking in a dangerous position such as on zig zag lines or other pedestrian crossings
• parking opposite or within ten metres of a junction
• parking over a dropped kerb
• blocking a road or pavement which causes pedestrians to enter the road
• preventing you from being able to park or get your vehicle off your driveway (try to find the owner and ask them to move the vehicle, before reporting)
• preventing emergency vehicles from accessing an area

Report a vehicle obstruction or hazard to the Police

North Somerset Council enforces the following:

• double and single yellow lines
• blue badge bays
• limited waiting bays
• taxi ranks
• loading bays
• parking in bus lanes and stops
• zig-zag markings at schools (if restrictions apply) and pedestrian crossings
• parking across dropped kerbs where there’s a crossing point, with or without tactile paving
• double-parking (parking too far from the kerb)

Report illegal parking to North Somerset Council