New driveway - Public Footpath Kerb Issue

m4rky

Hi,

We have been looking to buy a house that doesn't have a driveway.
There is plenty of space at the side of the house to put a new 2 car driveway in. But there is a problem with the footpath kerb to the road.

There is a small slope in the kerb which leads to the gate at the front of the house but the slope would need extending to allow a car onto the new driveway.

Is it possible to change the kerb?

I assume it is only the council that could do the work?

But which Council department would I need to speak to?

Has any one managed to do this and how much did it cost?

If it helps we are governed by Stockport Council.

Thanks,

Mark

carolt2

try this link, right hand column there is a order form for dropped kerb,
might give you the information you need

2nd link contains contact numbers....
HTH


http://www.stockport.gov.uk/content/transportstreets/pavementxingskerbs
http://www.stockport.gov.uk/content/environment/planningbuildingpolicy/developmentcontrol1/doineedpermission/dropcrossings

m4rky

Thanks that brilliant.

I didn't bother looking on the councils website as I assumed it was going to be difficult to find.

Just got to find the relevant tel number for them.

m4rky

Just noticed your edited post.

And you have now given me a link to the relevant tel number.

Its not a classified road, its just a residential backstreet.
So hopefully it should be relatively easy

m4rky

Just phoned the council and didn't get much more info out of them than the website shows.

Basically I would need to request a council officer to come out and do a survey (free of charge) and he would then give a cost for the job.

Heres another Stockport council link to kerbs: http://www.solutionssk.co.uk/highwaysmaintenance/kerbs_faq.asp

With regards to cost I have seen prices range from £350 to £1350 to create a dropped kerb.

Hope this helps someone else.

dander

I had my kerb dropped a couple of months ago, in hertfordshire not stockport, it cost me just under £1k including the various council survey and admin fees.

m4rky

Thanks for the reply.

£1k is what I was thinking of budgeting.

Expensive isn't it just for a couple of concrete blocks, some tarmac and half a days labor for a couple of blokes!

Crabman

Are you obliged to use the council's contractors?

Our neighbours had their drive converted to a double and had the same company do the dropped kerb extension. Our council has a list of approved contractors who are permitted to undertake certain work on the public highway, as an alternative to the big name contractor they normally work with.

m4rky

Yep, our council allows 3rd part contractors to do the job.
So could be done by the drive company if they are approved.

liitleblackcat

The Council I used to work for (in the West Midlands) did it either through their own contractor (in which case you didn't pay for supervision and admin) or through an approved contractor list (in which case you did pay for supervision and admin). Supervision and admin cost around £100, so if the approved contractor was £100 less than the Council, it was worth it.

I think £1000 for a full width dropped kerb and strengthening of the footway to accommodate vehicles is about right. New carriageway construction costs about £100 per m2, so a 4m x 2m reconstruction with new kerbs would be about £1000. The footway isn't designed for anything but pedestrians and they are a lot lighter than cars or vans.

dander

£1k did seem very expensive to me, but they didn't half bring a big lorry and a lot of men to do the job, and it took a fair old while to do. As littleblackcat says, the process did look as though they were building something to carriageway standards of construction rather than just patching up a bit of pavement.