Cost of resiting a lamp post when dropping kerb?

Ringles

I'm thinking of applying to my local council (Waltham Forest) to have my kerb dropped, but the guidance says that I will have to pay for the cost of resiting any lamp posts etc. outside my property.

I have a lamp post where the kerb would be dropped and wondered if anyone has had this done or knows roughly how much the council would charge to move a lamp post?

I know it will vary from Local Authority to Local Authority, but wanted a rough guide before I pay £82 to Waltham Forest Council for the privilege of submitting an application!

Many thanks in advance!

princeofpounds

The price of dropping a kerb never seems to bear much relation to the actual costs, so I'm not sure the post would either.

Sorry, know that's not helpful.

82much

I would give the council a call and ask the question and tell them you would need to know before applying to drop your curb.

Poosmate

Birmingham City Council used to charge £720 to move a lamp column and I think £60 per square metre for the dropped kerb. That was about 4 years ago though.

Find out if your council is going to be doing any street lighting refurbishments any time soon or if they have any plans to reconstruct the footways in your road. I know BCC offer dropped kerbs at a reduced rate if they are doing a scheme there although not if a street light needs to be moved.

Remember with the street light they have to work in conjunction with the local electricity board to disconnect the light from the mains and reconnect the new one, this will be charged at the rate the electricity board will charge them. Also they are limited as to how far they can move it so having a dropped kerb just to remove a street light from in front of your house isn't going to work.

The cost of your dropped kerb will depend upon your Council's policy and the make up of the existing footway. If it's tarmac they'll normally do from the kerb to your boundary. If it's a flagged footway with a grass verge they could just take out the grass and put in a tarmac or concrete apron (sloped bit) and they'll lift the flags and relay them on concrete (reinforced to take the weight of the car). They are the two main constructions. The width is usually 2.7m (3 lowered or flat kerbs at 0.9m length each). This width times the depth of the footway (from kerb to boundary) will give you the area of your dropped kerb but you need to add on another 1sqm for the triangular bits (the splays) at the dipped kerbs either side of the dropped kerb. If you just have a tarmac footpath ask your Council what their price per square metre is and you'll be able to work out roughly how much your dropped kerb will cost.

Check out other dropped kerbs in your road as that is most likely how yours will be constructed.

Also, make sure you don't have any cable/communications/water inspection covers in the area where you want your crossing - these can be horrendously expensive to have moved or reinforced and some of the utilities (gas/electric/media/communications/water) will charge a small fortune just to give an estimate! Yeah - I do mean an estimate not a quote!!!

Another thing to look out for is trees!! If there is a tree anywhere near where you want your crossing there could be problems with roots. Even if you can't see any in the area of your crossing, the Council get very skittish about cutting tree roots and will call in their arbouriculturists from their Parks Dept. (or whatever dept they're from where you are) for professional advice. If there is any question that the stability of the tree will be compromised they'll want you to pay for it to be taken out (£300-£600 based on a few years ago). You can't blame them though, nowadays if a tree blows over in severe winds it's no longer an act of God but the Council's fault. The ambulance chasing lawyers4U ensured that.

Hope that helps,

Poo

chris_m

There may also be issues about visibility when exiting the property (high hedges/fences may not meet the latest guidelines with regards to how wide an angle of visibility is available) and/or turning space to avoid having to reverse into or out of the property if it's a busy road, or classed as such by the council. Either of those could kybosh the plans before the price is even considered.