Neighbours spend £100,000 in seven-year row over a 'few feet' of parking

Two accountants have spent £100,000 in a seven-year dispute over a “few feet” of parking space.

Neighbours Ivan Soares, 53, and Manish Kothari, 41, have been fighting each other over the parking space in their west London cul-de-sac since 2015.

Mr Kothari and his brother and sister-in-law Sandip and Bindu Kothari have accused their neighbour and his wife Sunita of “selfish parking”, claiming that they left their cars only a few inches away from their vehicles deliberately.

Mr and Mrs Soares accused their neighbours of trespassing on their own parking space, with tensions running so high during the row that police have been involved.

The fight has already gone to court once, leading to £100,000 in lawyers’ fees and is now set for another three-day trial.

The neighbours' row revolves around three car parking spaces outside their houses in Fallowfield Close, Harefield, two owned by Mr and Mrs Soares and a third in between them owned by the Kotharis.

Mr and Mrs Soares had allowed a "swap" arrangement, whereby they parked their vehicles in the two adjacent spaces on the left, closest to their house, with the Kotharis using the space on the right, which the couple said was the “sensible” thing to do.

After allegations of inconsiderate parking, the neighbours fell out, with Mr and Mrs Soares revoking the swap agreement in September 2018, according to their lawyers.

They are now claiming compensation for the Kotharis having "trespassed" on their land by continuing to park in the disputed space for nearly two years after the deal came to an end, with the Kotharis counter-suing for an injunction to stop their neighbours from blocking the shared driveway or doing anything deliberate to make parking their car more difficult.

For Mr and Mrs Soares, barrister Maxwell Myers said the Kotharis had initially disputed whether their neighbours owned the space on the right, closest to the Kotharis' house, described by lawyers as the "new space" as it was added after the houses were built.

Mr and Mrs Soares claimed it was included in the deeds when they bought the house in 2006 and ultimately a judge last year awarded possession of the space to them.

He said the couple are now seeking thousands in damages for the Kotharis' use of the space between September 2018 and August 2020, as well as a permanent injunction barring their use of the space.

Manish Kothari, who presented his own case in court, claimed he and his family have themselves been the victims of blocked access.

Judge Monty noted how the police had at one point become involved in the neighbours' spat, adding: "feelings are obviously running very high".