I walk my kids to school and pick them up, on my way, there is a house that -most of the time- keeps both of their gate doors open across the pavement perpendicular to their house, taking around 80% of the pavement in front of their house.
Is this legal?
I would think they are using it as a way of stopping cars from parking in front of their house/gate at school run times, but today is a Sunday, and I just walked pass them and it is like that now.
If this is a public road then, on the face of it, the behaviour seems to be contrary to s137(1) Highways Act 1980.
(1) If a person, without lawful authority or excuse, in any way wilfully obstructs the free passage along a highway he is guilty of an offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 51 weeks or a fine or both.
The "highway" includes the pavement.
Some local authorities' websites offer a facility to report such things (and some of them allow you to track the progress of your report).
No, they can't, for the same reason that front doors in the UK are so often compelled to open inwards, even WOPR's wholly correct Comment, above, is almost irrelevant.
Opening a gate, door or anything else across a pavement isn't simply 'taking space'. It is by definition obstructing the pavement.
Whether this particular pavement is a public right of way is what matters, and that's a different question which depends on the particular circumstances. Still, in almost all cases, the pavement will be a public right-of-way.
For a pavement or any other path- or roadway not to be a public right-of-way would require the owner to post prominent notices saying so; saying, for instance, 'Private path/road. No public access.' Not immediately but eventually, failing to post those notices would automatically give the path or road public right-of-way.
In some cases, that rule is so strictly enforced that the posted notice will state '… and the public are allowed to use it until further notice…' and that 'further notice' will mean the owner closes the road for at least one day each year.
