UK - Application to local council for dropped kerb (vehicle access)

I equipped last year, cost was around 480 quid if I remember rightly

 In North Yorks., putting in a drop kerb used to involve not only consent on the part of the Council, but the work had to be carried out by them too, at a cost out of all proportion to reality.

Happily, things changed a few years back, and, once permission has been received from the authorities, one can now employ a local builder to do the job instead...........net result, more properly done drop kerbs, fewer unsightly wooden blocks.

So, check to see whether this applies where you are, and, hopefully, you can get a competitive quote.

A work colleague has recent give up on his application.The council give the nod at a cost of £800 to drop the curb and lay some tarmac.The reason for the tarmac,a small piece of grassed land.And the reason he gave up is they wanted £2500 for the grassed area.

He has chosen to park as previous on the street.

Just to add.

Gateshead council insisted they done all the work.

Scooot posted:

A work colleague has recent give up on his application.The council give the nod at a cost of £800 to drop the curb and lay some tarmac.The reason for the tarmac,a small piece of grassed land.And the reason he gave up is they wanted £2500 for the grassed area.

He has chosen to park as previous on the street.

Yes, i've read a few stories, i know it can be done for a few hundred quid if lucky, but some councils are clearly on the take : (

The thing about removing a bit of grassland is probably the loss of it's drainage potential, whereas tarmacking it over contributes to more rain down the drains, and perhaps future flood problems. I guess this is why some councils are picky [and costly] about removing grass, but £2.5k is extortionate! : /

I've got my application in, don't know why they will get back.

Debs

Frank F posted:

Do you really need a drop down kerb for your bike??

If it's for a car, most people used to put a piece of wood in front of the kerb to save the tyres.  Bring back the old days when jobsworths were a rarity.

FF

Frank, have you seen the shocking price of wood in B & Qs or Wickes lately?

Costs a small fortune these days, it don't grow on trees you know! : )

Debs

Cost me about £500 about eight years ago, that was to drop the curb and replace the grassed service strip with hardcore and tarmac. it was not done by the council per say but the work had to be done ay a council approved contractor to ensure the work was done to an an approved standard. The land still belongs to the council and as such they are responsible should someone be injured in the future by the works executed. It also ensures you get a proper job and eliminates cowboys!

Ken

Thanks for all the replies.

I suppose it depends upon how nice or not my local council are with it. Will find out soon : /

Fortunately, the kerbs in question separate my land from the gutter & tarmac road of a fairly quiet col-de-sac [no grass verge or pedestrian walkway] and getting lowered will serve to help the council by having my car parked on my land instead of their road; easier col-de-sac access for service vehicles, emergency vehicles, the dustmen and recycle vehicle, and better access for white van driver delivering my vinyl bought off Amazon, so good for national commerce too! : D

So many advantages they may pay me to get it done : )

Debs

naim_nymph posted:

Thanks for all the replies.

I suppose it depends upon how nice or not my local council are with it. Will find out soon : /

Fortunately, the kerbs in question separate my land from the gutter & tarmac road of a fairly quiet col-de-sac [no grass verge or pedestrian walkway] and getting lowered will serve to help the council by having my car parked on my land instead of their road; easier col-de-sac access for service vehicles, emergency vehicles, the dustmen and recycle vehicle, and better access for white van driver delivering my vinyl bought off Amazon, so good for national commerce too! : D

So many advantages they may pay me to get it done : )

Debs

The eternal optimist is in for a surprise................

..............you might have to pay to enable the Council to evaluate all these savings they are going to make

2006, East Dorset District Council, all done within a few weeks for free. Disabled access. Dropped kerb plus grading and tarmac of pavement.

I just love seeing more and more of our urban landscapes being given up for the almighty automobile. Gardens paved-over for parking. Is there a better way to improve the "kerb-appeal" of your property and the street generally? I think not. We like our parking more than we like our parks.

When I lived in Clifton, cars would double-park in the street all the time. I finally figured out that they had no choice. They had simply run out of petrol while driving around looking for a parking spot. The problem solved itself and they just left the cars where they stopped.

winkyincanada posted:

I just love seeing more and more of our urban landscapes being given up for the almighty automobile. Gardens paved-over for parking. Is there a better way to improve the "kerb-appeal" of your property and the street generally? I think not. We like our parking more than we like our parks.

Winky, i wouldn't make judgements to hastily;

My front garden has been laid to gravel on a porous membrane for many years, and it will remain so after the kerb-lowering,, so no change there and it will continue to serve as a soak-away. Also my GTO is a thing of auto-beauty, raising my face value with a smile every time i look out the front window : )

Debs

Quote: Naim_Nymph:-

"Also my GTO is a thing of auto-beauty"

A Pontiac an absolute beauty especially a '67.

Howard, beauty is in the eye of the beholder : )

The email response/reply from the County-Council is a download for the  "Application Pack Form" which looks like a load of gobbledegook  because it's mixed and muddled up with alternative requests for different kinds of road works. But i think i can pick my way though it : /

However, the licence permit fee is £124 and they have provided a list of 'approved' roadwork firms to consult for the job. I'll ask the nearest three for [no obligation] quotes tomorrow... 

Frank,

i've searched the web to read a lot of stories; some good and some bad. Some reports of the Approved list forming monopolies as so to quote prices with no relation to reality. An area in London has a shocker start price for kerb-dropping at £5k! [Perhaps it's where the Russians live?]

Also seems to have been a seismic shift in cost increases since the financial crash of 2008, before then case history reports of typical 10 quid for the licence permit fee and a hundred quid [or two] for getting a few kerbs dropped. But it's a lottery on how each individual council deal with it, and how the Approved ground workers quote.

However, i have a gut feeling my costs will be fair to middling, fortunately the details of my request don't involve a main road, walkway, grass verge, drainage, objection, or any other obvious foreseeable problem [not yet anyway]

Will find out more tomorrow : )

Debs

Frank F posted:

Hi Debs,

Good luck with the quotes but get it done before BREXIT!!

FF

what do you mean, Frank?

i never get anything done before Breakfast,

and don't own any dogs either!  

naim_nymph posted:

Also my GTO is a thing of auto-beauty......

Debs

We'll have to agree to disagree on that.

winkyincanada posted:

naim_nymph posted:

Also my GTO is a thing of auto-beauty......

Debs

We'll have to agree to disagree on that.

Winky, there MUST be something wrong with you

Don Atkinson posted:

winkyincanada posted:

naim_nymph posted:

Also my GTO is a thing of auto-beauty......

Debs

We'll have to agree to disagree on that.

Winky, there MUST be something wrong with you

Thank heavens its air cooled!