Had a reply from the Council today. While they didn't specifically say the car can be parked there, they gave me this bit of info which I am reading as parking being allowed during those hours as long as you don't enter the street: Hadn't even considered deliveries! I live just outside the catchment area so I've never had problems, but it does make me wonder how Royal Mail, DPD and the rest are handling these kinds of restrictions...

Apologies for not replying, dx100uk, I read your first response too quickly and thought it was a statement. I think it should be as Ethel Street said, you can leave the zone without being fined, just can't enter back into it. It matched what my neighbour told me. I have sent a question over to our Council so I expect to have a more concrete answer sometime in the future and I will update this thread in case anyone else will have the same query.

I get the feeling the same might have to happen here. I don't imagine the other neighbour will willingly stop her complaints against him just like that, not unless she's told to, so I hope they inform her of this.

Here's something I'm hoping to clarify before I get in trouble for it: There is a street close to where I live that was transformed into a temporary Pedestrian and Cycle Zone due to a school that's there. I know I can't enter it during those times, but can I be fined for having my car parked on that street while the zone is active? So far I have only heard one interpretation, from my neighbour, who said you can have your car parked there and you can exit the zone while it is operational, oddly enough, but before I take her word for it I want to get some more opinions on the matter. For reference, here is what the Council's own website states: "It is an offence to enter or drive in an active school Street without a valid school street permit." (emphasis mine) Would this prove my neighbour right or can they still find a different interpretation to it that would carry the risk of a fine if I park my car there? The sign for the zone is very similar to the image attached below, only different operating times. Edit: to clarify, there are permits you can apply for if you actually live on that street, but I'm just outside that area. Also, there are no other parking restriction on the road that would apply.

Update on the situation: Following the run in with the police he has actually gone to the police station himself to question what he was told and was told there is no issue with him idling or moving the car around the car park, so the police officers who told him that were wrong. As a side note, he knows who it is that's reporting him. Seems to be a bit of a feud between them, but the clarification he got from the police should at least stop them coming around every time a report is made. Thank you to everyone who replied to this question!

With regards to insurance, the car is fully insured. The neighbour kept it that way precisely so other people could drive him around, specifically his brother once he comes around. As for unfettered access to private property, that's a good question. The access is technically unfettered but this is a private parking area behind the buildings and no-one would have reason to come in unless it was to park. Don't think it's just to stop the car running its engine, as I said in the original post, someone reported him driving it when it was in all likelihood me. Seems to me someone just has a bone to pick with him so they report him for everything.

Asking for a friend - no, really. Quick background: my elderly neighbour lost his driving licence a few weeks ago and since then I've been driving him to the shop every now and then. This is usually a week or two apart, so he sometimes starts the engine and idles it for a few minutes to charge the battery. He might have driven it around the parking area a bit but he doesn't even do that these days. Apart from when I drive him, the car is always parked inside the private parking area for the building. A few weeks ago he had a visit from the police. Seems someone reported him driving! I assume one of the neighbours saw me driving him off and didn't bother to look how many people were in the car, but I digress. He told them he isn't driving on public roads, mentions me driving him around, and that he only charges the battery up every now and again. The police are satisfied and leave. Fast forward to today. Once again, police are knocking on his door, only this time they're telling him he can't even sit in his car with his keys in the ignition, let alone the engine being on, as that would fall under "operating a vehicle without a licence". They threaten to take his keys away before he promises to not do it, and they leave. Is this correct? Can he not even idle the car or drive it around a private residential parking lot, one with a sign warning "residents only", or would the fact that there is no gate or barrier to stop cars coming in deem it a public road?