Kerb (Drop Kerbs) Highway Permits
Drop kerbs, essential to allow pavement crossings when constructing car parking areas in towns (see Car Parking in Gardens), especially new introductions, will require Planning Permission, which will include a written/hard copy plan of the survey undertaken when making such applications, to ensure that the angle of the drop is not too great. If an existing kerb is high against the roadway, and the width of a footpath does not allow for a shallow angle, permission may be refused. (Any wheelchair user perambulating along the pathway may be tipped into the path of oncoming cars.)
Under The Highways Act 1980 (Section 184) it is an offence for a vehicle to cross the footpath or verge where there is no proper vehicle crossover. Permission must be sought and granted to permit a vehicle to cross a public footway. All costs of the application must be borne by the applicant, including all fees. Permits/permission may take up to four months before a decision is made by the Council (usually County Council decisions). Costs will vary widely, depending on the type of surface material in the footway – tarmac, block/brick/paving slabs etc – width of entrance and number of kerbs to be lowered.
Pavement crossings may also require a survey by the Local Authorities if the road is a) close to a school or hospital, b) access onto a fast moving/unrestricted road, c) near to a blind corner or d) other specific or potential problem that will require a decision by the Council before permission is considered.
Any work on the highway will require specialist contractors, who hold specific licences and certificates, together with risk assessments and the possibility of the use, hire and licensing of traffic lights or other management schemes. Importantly, contractors should notify their insurance companies for a site-specific cover for each project.
There are clear regulations in place for all of these works. A simple drive extension or additional car parking bay is not onerous (subject to the nature of the site with respect of local restrictions), but the process of dropping the kerbs, lowering the pavement and starting the new build of a driveway/car park will involve a lot of compliances and legal obligations on the part of the designer, contractor and home owner (who remains liable for all payments and applications to the Council).
Works of this nature will certainly fall under the Construction (Design Management) Regulations 2015, and we suggest that a separate contract is in place for these specific projects, and not included in a general landscaping contract, to ensure firm barriers, set in writing, are in place when undertaking drop kerbs or footpath crossings.
In some areas, such as London, off road parking can increase the value of a property by tens of thousands of pounds, but the Local Authorities have no interest in house values, and their default position is to refuse new pavement crossings/drop kerbs. Therefore, you need to make a strong case for such an application. One survey concluded that 60% of all such applications were rejected.
