Dropped kerbs and council responsibility

jowie

I'm looking into getting a dropped kerb added to my property. It's a semi-detached house that was built in the 1950s, and it still has the original concrete driveway and car port on the side, but for some reason there was never a dropped kerb.

I was talking to someone about it at work and they were surprised when I told them that I had to pay for it instead of the council. They said (in their opinion) that since the house was always designed with a driveway, the council of 60-something years ago was wrong for not putting in dropped kerbs by default.

It does seem stupid that I have a driveway that is never used because someone could legitimately block my car in. It's not like I've decided to build a custom driveway onto my house, the driveway was always there. So paying a contractor £1500 to do what the council should have done originally seems a bit unfair...

Does anyone have advice? Maybe I don't have a case, but I'd like to explore the possibility before I shell out a huge amount of money for something that someone else could potentially be paying for!

Thanks!

PasturesNew

Back then people just drove over the kerb, it wasn't a problem or issue. Many would put a random lump of wood in the gutter to help transition the car over the rise.

If you want a dropped kerb, it's up to you to pay it. Otherwise you're asking ME to pay for it ...and I can't park in your drive.

jowie

It's more that legally I can't stop someone from blocking me in, which is a pain.

I'm only asking you to pay for 0.0001% of it...

phill99

What is fair or unfair is irrelevant. How do you know that the driveway was put in by the council? It was probably put inby a previous owner or tenant who couldn't be botheted to put a dropped kerb in.

Given the level of council funding at the moment and that the fact that they are struggling to pay for essential services such as social services, care for the elderly etc, your driveway sn't even on the egenda.

You need to pay for improve,ents that you benefit from in aprivate dwelling.

You should have headed this thread 'Dropped Kerbs and MY responsibility'

Dan-Dan

jowie wrote: »

I'm looking into getting a dropped kerb added to my property. It's a semi-detached house that was built in the 1950s, and it still has the original concrete driveway and car port on the side, but for some reason there was never a dropped kerb.

I was talking to someone about it at work and they were surprised when I told them that I had to pay for it instead of the council. They said (in their opinion) that since the house was always designed with a driveway, the council of 60-something years ago was wrong for not putting in dropped kerbs by default.

It does seem stupid that I have a driveway that is never used because someone could legitimately block my car in. It's not like I've decided to build a custom driveway onto my house, the driveway was always there. So paying a contractor £1500 to do what the council should have done originally seems a bit unfair...

Does anyone have advice? Maybe I don't have a case, but I'd like to explore the possibility before I shell out a huge amount of money for something that someone else could potentially be paying for!

Thanks!

Why is it the councils fault , surely the builder of your house was too tight to get it done at the time

Double_V

You can apply to your local council.
It costs around £200 if I am not wrong.

Have a look at: https://www.gov.uk/apply-dropped-kerb

jowie

Dan-Dan wrote: »

Why is it the councils fault , surely the builder of your house was too tight to get it done at the time

Isn't the kerb and pavement property of the council?

By the way, these are ex-council properties...

jowie

Double_V wrote: »

You can apply to your local council.
It costs around £200 if I am not wrong.

That's just their assessment costs.

Then you have to get an approved contractor to carry out the work. I was quoted £1500.

jowie

phill99 wrote: »

What is fair or unfair is irrelevant. How do you know that the driveway was put in by the council? It was probably put inby a previous owner or tenant who couldn't be botheted to put a dropped kerb in.

No, these are original driveways.

You need to pay for improve,ents that you benefit from in aprivate dwelling.

You should have headed this thread 'Dropped Kerbs and MY responsibility'

No, it was a question. No need for you to feel put out by it. We all pay council tax.

DTDfanBoy

jowie wrote: »

No, it was a question. No need for you to feel put out by it. We all pay council tax.

And sadly we all pay more than we should due to the disproportionate use of council services by some

I'm sure you noticed the lack of dropped curb when purchasing the property, and as such it should have been reflected in the price you paid :cool:

Perhaps it's just me but bludging seems to be the fastest growing sport in the UK at present

jowie

DTDfanBoy wrote: »

Perhaps it's just me but bludging seems to be the fastest growing sport in the UK at present

Is asking a question about what I may or may not be entitled to on a forum about saving money now bludging?

What is wrong with everyone? I used to use forums before and forgot about how many people just sit on them all day, trolling instead of being helpful.

If you don't like the question, move on. If you think I don't have a case, just say so. What is the point in getting political?

Now I remember why I don't use forums anymore...