For many people, parking outside their own home can be both a reason for stress and come at a monetary cost if you need to pay for a resident’s permit.
In certain urban areas, it can continue to be difficult to find a spot to leave your car near to home.
A dropped kerb is a legal necessity if you want to drive across the pavement onto your property.
Any access onto a public highway from a residential or commercial driveway area should have a dropped kerb.
A dropped kerb permits vehicles to cross the pavement from the road to a driveway and it is a legal necessity to have a dropped kerb if you intend to drive across the pavement onto your property.
Putting in a dropped kerb can make a huge improvement to easy access your property as well as helping to ensure people do not park in front of your driveway.
The law regarding dropped kerbs states: If you plan to drive a vehicle over the footway in to your driveway off a highway, then you will need to have a dropped kerb.
If you do not have dropped kerb, you must never drive over the footway. If you do this, you are breaking the law and enforcement action could be taken to prevent such practice.
The pavement may need to be reinforced in front of the building, and in some cases, it may be necessary for lampposts, manhole covers and other street furniture to be moved.
Drop Kerb Specialists in Worksop
Dropped kerbs also called vehicle access crossovers, are an alteration to the footpath. It entails lowering the kerb and laying new foundations to the paving to make it possible for a car to be driven onto the front area of a property.
The work involves lowering the kerbstones and strengthening the pavement to create a ramp, and must solely be performed by an authorised provider with Street Works Accreditation, and who have the necessary Public Liability insurance to fulfill the local authorities regulations.
Vehicle access cross overs comprise normally of 3 or 4 dropped kerbs with a tapered or transition kerb on either side. The standard maximum total width at road level of dropped kerbs for a VAC is 3.6 metres (i.e. normally 4 dropped kerbs).
We have several years experience in putting in drop kerbs and applying for the appropriate planning permission. We can work in conjunction with your local county council to install a dropped kerb while complying with all necessary regulations.
You can either apply to your local council for permission for a dropped kerb outside your building or we can apply to your local authority on your behalf.
We are members of the Streetworks Qualifications Register (SWQR). The SWQR holds details of qualified providers who have gained the proper qualifications in regard to the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991, which is necessary for any contractor excavating a highway.
We concentrate on delivering a product that gets it correct the first time. By investing in high quality components, equipment and processes, we ensure that we deliver sustainable and affordable solutions that will last.
We pride ourselves on our outstanding workmanship and client care and we ensure that every job is carried out to the finest quality standards.
Our team can check out your site to perform a free no-obligation survey. This allows our surfacing contractors to completely understand your needs and offer an accurate and competitive quote.
Local Kerb Dropping Contractors
The massive growth in interest for off-street parking has seen a growing number of people drop kerbs to create car standing at the front of their homes.
Study by home insurer Direct Line shows that off-street parking is regarded by estate agents as a desirable feature which adds value to a property. This, combined with escalating parking restrictions in lots of residential areas, has resulted in planning applications for dropped kerbs increase massively over recent years.
However while adding car standing space to the front of your home might add value to your property, there are many things to think about, not least environmental consequences, and flooding is a major concern.
When you switch out a front lawn with hard standing, rainwater can no longer absorb into the ground. As more and more households take this step, the cumulative effect severely increases the threat of flooding, so it’s important to incorporate drainage in your plans.
Planning permission is generally called for if you wish to drop the kerb outside your building to allow a car to cross the pavement. This is because the pavement might need to be reinforced to take the weight of motor vehicles and prevent them from damaging the surface or any pipes or cables below. It is also to ensure the new access will never be a safety hazard to other highway users.
You can learn if you require planning permission by getting in touch with your local council (you can identify the relevant council at the government website). How much it costs to apply will depend on your specific location.
If permission is approved, you then you need to locate a local specialist to do the work for you.
It’s definitely not a DIY job as the council will have criteria that contractors must meet. Some will only permit you to use their approved contractors, while others make it possible for you to use your own, as long as they are certified to the requirements of the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991, and hold public liability insurance. In this case, there might be an added fee for highway assessments by the council.
Worksop Vehicle Crossover Experts
However first it’s worth verifying if consent is likely to be granted. Below is a list of considerations. If any one of these criteria is not met, planning permission is probably to be turned down:
- Your front garden must be big enough for you to park your vehicle fully on your property.
- The kerb must be at minimum 4.8 m from the front of your house; or 6m if the parking spot is in front of an entrance or garage.
- The parking area should be at least 2.4 m wide.
- The suggested access to your property should be more than 10m away from a road junction; 15m away from busy junctions or on primary roads.
- It must be at least 1.5 m away from street lights and other street furniture.
- It must meet visibility standards; this is dependent on the type of road.
- Appropriate drainage must be provided to remove the excess surface water.
The removal of tree roots should be avoided. - The slope from your home to the road must not be too steep.
- Finally, you as the home owner must agree to the kerb being dropped; as an example, a tenant can not apply on their landlord’s behalf.