Man makes an extra £8,000 a year by renting out his driveway

A man who rents out his driveway is earning an additional £8,000 a year.

Full-time carer Joe Gorham rents out three parking spots at the front of his Brighton house to anyone willing to pay.

Joe Gorham/Red Marlin Ltd

Gorham's main customer base tend to be tourists but he gets interest from student nurses and people attending hospital appointments.

The 54-year-old, who has lived in the centre of Brighton for more than 30 years, started renting out the spots in 2018.

He says he first discovered the idea whilst he and his partner found themselves paying £200 a week to park their car in Southampton whilst on a cruise.

When a friend told him that he could have found a cheaper alternative on YourParkingSpace, Gorham decided to give it a try himself.

The platform allows users to advertise their own parking spaces for others to use.

Gorham said: "I started doing it because we had the spaces spare and we also had some issues with the house that needed to be sorted, we had to get a new roof because of a leak, and we also had to get the windows and the garage doors sorted too.

"It was initially for this but with all the price hikes going on it's really helped us keep going."

Gorham's first booking came within two days and customers have been regular ever since.

Gorham added: "Where we are in Brighton is a huge draw for people because we are a ten-minute walk from the beachfront and so close to hotels, the city centre, the railway station, and the hospital.

"I've also got an electric power charger too."

Initially Gorham charged £8 for 24 hour parking rights, before bumping the price up to £12.50 for a day of parking access.

Gorham said: "If you parked on Brighton Seafront, you are only allowed to park for 11 hours and that will cost you £33, if you go to the NCP carpark it will cost you £48 for the day."

"The pay and display on our street costs you around £16 to park for four hours - so my spaces are pretty cheap in comparison."

Gorham will often liaise with customers when they arrive and give advice on navigating Brighton as well as recommendations on what to do.

During the COVID pandemic, Gorham offered up free parking spaces to hospital workers.

To this day, he continues to give free parking spaces to cancer patients visiting the local hospital.

Gorham said: "It's so expensive to park at the hospital and it's the least I can do to help."