If you want to drive over the pavement to access your property, you must get a dropped kerb. You cannot drive over a pavement which has not been dropped.

We provide a quote and construction service for dropped kerbs.

Planning permission

You will usually need planning permission for a dropped kerb if your:

• property leads onto a classified road (such as an A-road)
• parking area is surfaced with concrete or some types of tarmac, block paving or any other material which does not let water drain
• property is a flat, maisonette, commercial premises or a listed building

Size of your driveway

If the front or back of your vehicle will be facing the road, you will need to make sure your space is at least 5.5 metres x 2.6 metres. If the side of your vehicle will be facing the road, you will need to make sure your space is at least 2.8 metres x 6.5 metres.

If you want to install a dropped kerb that is found to be excessive for the property type or is likely to have an impact on the street scene or street parking, the proposal may need to be refused, or the design scaled back.

Obstacles

We cannot drop a kerb which is closer than 1 metre to any street light, road sign or tree (this may also be increased to accommodate any roots). It must also be at least 10 metres from any junction, pedestrian crossing or other road safety measure.

We will not remove healthy trees for vehicle access. Trees that are dead, dying, diseased or dangerous will be replaced, usually within the original planter or tree pit.

Level pavements

We may reject your application if your property cannot be made level with the back of the pavement or if the angle of the road or the height of the pavement could cause vehicle damage. In certain circumstances, we may approve an application but certain vehicles may be restricted.

Drainage

If we receive requests to pave over a grass verge which may contribute to flooding, we may need to refuse your application.

If you wish to lay a new driveway you must make sure it has proper drainage and that water will not spill out on to the public highway. If you’re going to have a driveway surfaced with concrete, some types of tarmac, brick paving or other non-porous material, you will need to make sure there is a drain on your property for any surface water.

Traffic regulation order amendments

If we need to make changes to parking restrictions to install your dropped kerb there will be an additional fee of £700.

This fee is for us to amend the permanent traffic regulation order (TRO) and change any on-street markings.

There may also be an additional fee if we need to change any signs for a parking bay.

Gravel

If you want to use gravel or any other loose material as a surface on your driveway, you must make sure you have a minimum of a 1 metre gravel retaining strip or system in place throughout the full width of your driveway entrance. You can use a gravel retaining grid, strip of block paving, concrete or tarmac to stop the gravel spreading to the road.