For lots of people, parking outside their own home can be both a cause of stress and come at a financial cost if you need to buy a resident’s permit.
In particular urban regions, 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 wish to drive over 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 enables vehicles to cross the pavement from the road to a driveway and it is a legal necessity to have a dropped kerb if you want to drive across the pavement onto your property.
Installing a dropped kerb can make a significant improvement to accessing your property along with helping to make sure people do not park in front of your driveway.
The law regarding dropped kerbs states: If you intend to drive a vehicle over the footway into your driveway off a highway, then you will need to have a dropped kerb.
If you do not have dropped kerb, you must not 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 property, and in some cases, it may be necessary for lampposts, manhole covers and other street furniture to be relocated.
Drop Kerb Specialists in Bingham
Dropped kerbs also known as vehicle access crossovers, are an alteration to the footpath. It entails lowering the kerb and preparing new foundations to the paving to make it possible for a car to be driven onto the front area of a property.
The work includes lowering the kerbstones and strengthening the pavement to create a ramp, and must only be performed by an authorised provider with Street Works Accreditation, and who have the necessary Public Liability insurance to fulfill the local authorities requirements.
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 partnership with your local county council to install a dropped kerb while abiding by all necessary regulations.
You can either apply to your local council for permission for a dropped kerb outside your property or we can apply to your local authority on your behalf.
We are members of the Streetworks Qualifications Register (SWQR). The SWQR holds information of qualified operators who have gained the appropriate 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 make sure that we deliver lasting and cost effective solutions that will last.
We pride ourselves on our outstanding workmanship and client care and we make sure that each and every job is performed to the finest quality standards.
Our team can visit your site to carry out a free no-obligation survey. This enables our surfacing contractors to fully understand your needs and offer an accurate and competitive quote.
Local Kerb Dropping Contractors
The huge 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 properties.
Research 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, coupled with escalating parking restrictions in lots of residential areas, has resulted in planning applications for dropped kerbs increase massively over recent years.
But while putting in car standing space to the front of your home can add value to your property, there are many things to consider, not least environmental issues, and flooding is a big concern.
When you replace a front garden with hard standing, rainwater can no longer absorb into the ground. As more and more households take this action, the cumulative effect severely increases the danger of flooding, so it’s important to incorporate drainage in your plans.
Planning permission is usually required if you wish to drop the kerb outside your property to enable a car to cross the pavement. This is due to the fact that the pavement might need to be reinforced to take the weight of vehicles and help prevent them from damaging the surface or any pipes or cables below. It is in addition to ensure the new access will not be a safety risk 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 upon your specific location.
If permission is granted, you then you need to locate a local specialist to do the work for you.
It’s certainly not a DIY job as the council will have requirements that contractors must meet. Some will only allow you to use their approved contractors, while others make it possible for you to use your own, provided that they are certified to the requirements of the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991, and carry public liability insurance. In this case, there might be an additional charge for highway assessments by the council.
Bingham Vehicle Crossover Experts
But first it’s worth verifying if consent is likely to be granted. Below is a checklist of points to consider. If any one of these criteria is not really met, planning permission is likely to be turned down:
- Your front garden must be big enough for you to park your vehicle completely on your property.
- The kerb must be at least 4.8 m from the front of your house; or 6m if the parking area is in front of a door 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 has to be at least 1.5 m away from street lamps and other street furniture.
- It must meet visibility guidelines; this depends upon the type of road.
- Suitable drainage must be provided to take the excess surface water.
The extraction of tree roots should be avoided. - The slope from your property to the road must not be too steep.
- Finally, you as the homeowner must agree to the kerb being dropped; as an example, a renter can not apply on their landlord’s behalf.