Council Bandits?

mikeyn01

Hi,

I've always found these forums a great source of info but I've never felt the urge to ask a question myself - until now.

I've just been talking to a friend who's having to pay for council work that I just can't see being fair.

The short story is that he lives on a tight turn where the rubbish lorries ride the pavements which has resulted in broken paving slabs.
The council are going to replace the section of pavements with tarmac but have told him that when they do his they will fit a bollard in the middle of his drive unless he forks out £950 to extend his drop down as they are saying he could be hopping the kerb to get on his drive - breaking the slabs.

Just to make it clear - they are having to do the pavement as the slabs are broken in a long stretch, not just around his drive. He already has a legal drop down. He's in Bexley Borough.
Also, there is no evidence of him jumping the kerb and clearly no need of it - but there is clear evidence the rubbish guys do.

Appreciate your thoughts as this had wound me right up and it would seem Bexley are just throwing their weight around!!


Thanks, Mike

ormus

id tell em to go ahead. and i will remove the bollard the same night.

mikeyn01

Ha ha - I did suggest that but my pal thinks that isn't a great idea. I'd like nothing more than getting out there with a grinder the next day...

mikeyn01

Yep. I can think of plenty of words to describe them...

Just wonder what the legality of it is. Can they simply come along and block off an existing driveway just because they say someone's driving on it?
I wouldn't have thought so - in which case could you tell them to poke their bollard and insist they replace the drop down exactly how they found it?

WestonDave

So let me get this straight - the council want to put a bollard there because they think he might have been partly responsible for breaking the slabs - slabs which they are going to remove and replace with tarmac so can't be broken again in future? Sounds like sheer bl00dymindedness to me.

I'd let them do it and then get the local paper and local MP on the case regarding their petty and vindictive attitude.

ic

Has your friend widened the driveway, say a single to a double, but not gotten the council to widen the dropped kerb to match? If so technically he's committing an offence every time he drives over the undropped bit. In order to widen the driveway, planning permission is required too - I doubt they'd ever stop him from widening an existing driveway, but would expect the fees for the application and then to do the work to drop the kerb to the full width.

As silly as it sounds, this does happen: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-524838/Cars-trapped-illegal-driveways-council-fits-bollards-middle-night.html

irnbru_2

mikeyn01 wrote: »

they will fit a bollard in the middle of his drive unless he forks out £950 to extend his drop down as they are saying he could be hopping the kerb to get on his drive - breaking the slabs.

The bollard won't affect him if he uses the drop-down kerb.

Around here we have people who've monoblocked the front garden and not dropped the kerb. The council recently put H-Bars at all the dropped-down kerbs making it obvious who can be blocked in and who can't.

mikeyn01

The (single) driveway and drop down is 'as built' so you would have to be taking retrospective planning to the extreme to levy any charges against it - 1930's house probably.

He isn't looking to extend it, however, they have said unless he pays to have a wider drop down done during the pavement refurb then they wont replace the drop down and will install a bollard to stop him using his drive.
I can only assume they are (incorrectly) saying he busted the pavement therefore he has to pay to have a wide driveway so he doesn't drive over the curb when he goes on his drive - which he doesn't anyway, the rubbish lorries do!

Surely they have a duty to refurbish it as they found it unless there is a good reason not to do so...
There must be some rules, regs or laws about this!

irnbru_2

mikeyn01 wrote: »

they have said unless he pays to have a wider drop down done during the pavement refurb then they wont replace the drop down and will install a bollard to stop him using his drive.

... the nub of the problem ....

Take photographs and send to councillor and ask them why it's being removed.

Very petty of the council - perhaps they have no record of a drop-down kerb.

Any historic photos of the property or plans of the estate?

mikeyn01

Totally agree. I would be kicking up a massive stink - photo's, letters, angle grinders and all sorts.

Was initially hoping to get a pointer as to what the council can and can't tell you what to do in this situation. Then hopefully stick it to em!

ic

Personally I think the first thing you should do is contact the engineer in charge of the works and see if they'd come out and discuss the problem, and explain the issues. At that point you'd be in the position to raise argument about the fact the driveway is long standing and nothing new. Perhaps there's a been an administrative error and the letter has been sent to the wrong house?