Making dropped kerb/drive wider.

fartingspartan

fartingspartan

fartingspartan

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226
Hi,

I have just bought a house (yay DIY begins)..

Having hit my alloy off the corner of dropped kerb 4 times in last 5 days I have came to realise that the drive is wider than the dropped kerb.

Did some reading on forum(s) and it seems costs/permission from various councils can vary to install dropped kerbs etc.

Anyone made their's wider? shed any light on how they went about it, council, permission, contractors etc

Appreciate an comments/experiences!

Cheers
 
Nottingham County Council quoted me £800 about 3 years ago and due to their policy only they were permitted to undertake work to highways maintained areas. Needless to say I didn't take them up on the offer.
 
You'll almost certainly have to go through the council to do this and it'll likely cost you.

Even if your drive is wider than the dropped kerb, surely your car isn't? In which case, you should be able to get out of your drive without any problems?

While a wider dropped kerb may be convenient, it probably isn't worth the cost and hassle. By all means look into it, but I'm going to say you'd be better off improving your driving :p
 
div0 said:
By all means look into it, but I'm going to say you'd be better off improving your driving :p
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Sometimes it's not possible.

I looked into widening mine in my last house because it was only possible to get onto the drive avoiding the low wall partitioning it from my neighbour by swinging out right on the main road if you were turning in left. Essentially you were turning back on yourself.

Despite indicating left I was undertaken a number of times when doing this.

https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=kt...=qYxZIYpKoHTbkCA2AsSiGw&cbp=12,80.43,,0,11.15

Mine was the one with the hedge.

The council quoted about £750.
 
We have looked at it for the same issue, our drive opening is 2.5 car widths wide but the dropped kerb is more 1.5 car widths wide.

My local council will only let you use them or approved contractors - there was one approved contractor and it was going to cost 1k+

Having looked around the net at the time this seemed to be the going rate, haven't had it done yet but probably will do even if its very expensive :(
 
Planning permission is not usually required for a drop curb, unless it involve a listed building,conservation area & a few other things

The last one I did, cost the house owner a £100 just for processing the application form.

Under 'Provision of vehicle crossings under the Highways Act 1980- section 184' you are committing an offence to drive a vehicle across the footway to gain access to a property if a properly constructed vehicle crossing is not in place.
and some councils will ruthlessly enforce this.

Some councils we let you use your own approved contractor to do the work, others prefer to have their contractor do the work.
To installed 5 kerbs (5mtrs) usually anything from £800 upwards, depend on the work involved, if the council does the work.

Back to your question, even to extend an existing drop kerb. your looking probably £400, & you will need council permission to extend.
 
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[DOD]Asprilla;24057973 said:
Sometimes it's not possible.

I looked into widening mine in my last house because it was only possible to get onto the drive avoiding the low wall partitioning it from my neighbour by swinging out right on the main road if you were turning in left. Essentially you were turning back on yourself.
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Reverse in, as advised in the Highway Code :p

Do not reverse from a side road into a main road. When using a driveway, reverse in and drive out if you can.
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https://www.gov.uk/using-the-road-159-to-203/reversing-200-to-203

In both cases the smiley face was meant to indicate that I wasn't being overly serious.

I understand that convenience actually matters when it's something you do every day.
 
i had a look at getting it done at my new place, was going to cost over £1k (mainly cos it was on what the council classed as a main road :( ), and most of that was to the council, for "paperwork", still had to find someone off there approved list to get the work done, so didn't bother.
 
cjgardens said:
Just do it don't contact the council. As long as it's not a bad job done they won't complain about it
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The council can make you reinstate the highway/ pavement back to it's original condition, if you don't have permission to install a drop kerb.
It is illegal to install a drop kerb without permission, & most council will enforce it.

If you get a contrractor to install a drop kerb, most/ all councils want the contractor to be accredited under the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 (Operative Course units 1-9) to carry out work on the highway.
 
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Maybe you could angle grind a corner off the kerb....yes it will not be like a dropped kerb but it will not be as severe as a normal kerb....if the council complain say it was like this when you bought house...lol
 
Hmm, I was under the impression due to liability it had to go through the council (or at least a council approved contractor).

I have recently found out that our road belongs to NCB (who are now defunct) and it hasn't been 'adopted' by the council, would this mean I still have to get the councils approval or can my kerb be dropped by 'anyone'?
 
Maundie said:
Hmm, I was under the impression due to liability it had to go through the council (or at least a council approved contractor).

I have recently found out that our road belongs to NCB (who are now defunct) and it hasn't been 'adopted' by the council, would this mean I still have to get the councils approval or can my kerb be dropped by 'anyone'?
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Most councils want to use their work staff, or an approved contractor, who also has public liability cover.

Now that's a interesting question, I put a hard standing in last year, it exited on to a unadopted lane, but I still had to applied to check whether planning permission was required,which it didn't as the lane wasn't classed as a A,B,or C road, plus seek parish council approval.

You need to have a chat with the planning officer, & see where you stand.

You probably need a land registry title search, to see if road has been register,etc, & prove that any ownership of the road is currently unknown.

Have google for the 'Provision of vehicle crossings under the Highways Act 1980- section 184' & see what said about private/ unadopted roads.
 
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Love this forum for the "learn to drive" - rubbish.

My dropped kerb is exactly the same width as my car and the raised corner stones are above the height of my tyre so when coming off kerb - especially reversing hitting alloy is almost guaranteed, when swinging off/away hitting front nose/under bumper is also a worry.

Also keeping inline with the dropped kerb means if I reverse on the driver side door is opening on the wall rather than the grass side...which again isnt practical.

Contacted council and they have sent me a pack out to fill in and it has cost estimations based on how many full stones I need etc.

Will look at it over weekend and report back, Wigan council for info!
 
fartingspartan said:
My dropped kerb is exactly the same width as my car and the raised corner stones are above the height of my tyre so when coming off kerb - especially reversing hitting alloy is almost guaranteed, when swinging off/away hitting front nose/under bumper is also a worry.

Also keeping inline with the dropped kerb means if I reverse on the driver side door is opening on the wall rather than the grass side...which again isnt practical.

Contacted council and they have sent me a pack out to fill in and it has cost estimations based on how many full stones I need etc.
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You might be lucky & they just remove the corner stones & extend it,or completely remove it & start again.

Nobody seem to use common sense when they install a drop kerb,official peeps decide it has to be that width & not a mm wider.
A friend had one installed, her driveway was 6mtrs wide, drop kerb 4mtrs wide, about two weeks later contractors were back to widen it.
 
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