Kerb dropping / vehicle crossover

Rambo

Hope someone can help! In brief, we have lived in our home for 6 years, it has a hard standing carriage driveway (entrance & exit) which has been in place for probably around 25 years. The entrance has a dropped kerb, but the exit does not. Our neighbours to either side have the same in/out driveway. One neighbour is building a side extension with garage and the council would not grant planning permission unless he applied for a vehicle crossover. Now we have received a letter from the local Highways maintenance contractors telling us we are crossing over the footpath illegally and must apply for a vehicle crossover or they will use bollards to prevent us from accessing the driveway. I guess my question is why is this the first we have heard of this in all these years living here? Is there some sort of legal precedence over assumed usage after some 25 years of use in this way and particularly given that the council seemingly did not make the previous owners get a dropped kerb when they granted permission for the garage extension to the side of our house - nor the neighbours on the other side who have exactly the same, but have not received a letter regarding this same issue. The annoying thing is that we are trying (!) to sell the house and the last thing we need is some expensive wrangle over dropped kerbs.....Help!

bobhawke

Cough up the money to get the other side dropped or just use your entrance as an exit too.

clockworks_2

Don't you have problems with people parking in front of the exit that doesn't have the dropped kerb?

tony6403

I suggest that you contact your local councillor(s) who should be able to resolve this issue.

keystone

You have received a letter from the council's maintenance contractor and not from the council? I'll bet the reply to your "Oh dear what do I do" response will be "If you apply to the Council they'll charge you £700 for it. We'll do it without telling them for £ 150 - when can we start?" Wakey wakey!

Cheers

Dippypud

Check your deeds or lease, to see if you already have permission for vehicular trespass across the pavement.

ormus

a letter from a contractor means zilch.
if anyone put bollards in front of my driveway, id be removing them the same night.