Dropped kerb / Bollard outside would be drive

taskerl

Hi,

We are gping to look at a property today thatlooks very nice and exactly what we are after from the pictures. On thing is there is no drive which is a must for us. There is a front garden so tne grass can be removed and a drive laid.
the only thing is there is currently no dropped kerb and where you would expect one to be if you got one there is a bollard..
The EA has said when they called us about the property that there was pottential for a drive, they also called this morning when the vendor was in the office and when we asked them to ask him about the kerb and the bollard he said yes it wont be a problem.

Does anyone have any experience with something similar?

If we do put an offer in today, can we do so and say subject to the kerb being lowered and the bollard removed?

Thanks in advance!

martindow

Different councils have their own policies regarding installing dropped kerbs. A lot are not keen on removing front gardens and reducing the parking spaces in streets. The fact they have installed a bollard suggest that they are unlikely to want it removed and let you park in your garden.

The seller of this house will not be able to do anything about this - it is the council you need to approach.

Putting in an offer doesn't commit you at all but it can mess the seller around. If off street parking is vital I think you should see what the situation is before making an offer.

phill99

Do not listen to the EA. He does not have your best interest at heart - just that of his client (which isn't you).


You need to speak to council highways dept and ask them that question.


Don't expect the vendor to pay for the works - this is an improvement solely for your benefit.

bouicca21

It is definitely the council you need to ask. In my area they charge for the initial inspection, it might be worth you asking the vendor to arrange one.

HouseBuyer77

As you might expect getting a kerb dropped for a driveway requires permission from the council. This may be straightforward or it may not. Give the planning department a ring and ask. Perhaps the bollard presents further problems but assuming it's also maintained by the council if they're happy to drop the kerb they should be happy to remove the bollard. Note that you will need to get council approved work men in to do it all.

You can certainly make the current owner completing the works a condition of your offer but equally they may refuse (wouldn't want to spend the money then you pull out, perhaps they think the front garden is a nice feature of the house).

Best things to do would be determine if the council would grant permission and get a couple of ball park estimates.

eddddy

The presence of a bollard suggests that there is a history of parking on pavements, or driving across the pavement to park - so the council put in the bollard to stop it.

It may be due to a general council policy; the garden is too small to meet council guidelines for a parking space; or a safety issue in that particular location.

The safety issue might be.. high number of pedestrians using the pavement, busy road (too dangerous to reverse on/off), too close to a junction etc.

DaftyDuck

Why did the Council elect to have a bollard there? Protect pavement on a corner? Prevent current owner parking on lawn? Permission would be unlikely in either case. Bollards don't grow on trees*, so why did they splash the cash. I'd not believe what anyone, except the Council, say.

*wooden bollards .... they could be considered growing from trees...

Innys1

DaftyDuck wrote: »

Why did the Council elect to have a bollard there? Protect pavement on a corner? Prevent current owner parking on lawn? Permission would be unlikely in either case. Bollards don't grow on trees*, so why did they splash the cash. I'd not believe what anyone, except the Council, say.

*wooden bollards .... they could be considered growing from trees...

I wouldn't even believe what the Council said. Even if you got something in writing from them, don't be surprised if they disown it.

Waterlily24

A few years ago we had terrible trouble just trying to get the drive widened, we lived on a busy main road, the property had a wide driveway but a narrow bit where the dropped kerb was. We got the permission in the end.

G_M

Taskerl wrote: »

The EA has said when they called us about the property that there was pottential for a drive, they also called this morning when the vendor was in the office and when we asked them to ask him about the kerb and the bollard he said yes it wont be a problem.

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Both the EA and the vendor just want you to buy. After that, it's your problem whether the council permit a dropped curb!

:rotfl:

You want to believe them so you are believing them.

Innys1

G_M wrote: »

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Both the EA and the vendor just want you to buy. After that, it's your problem whether the council permit a dropped curb!

:rotfl:

You want to believe them so you are believing them.

To be fair, the OP may have never dealt with this type of parasite previously in which case their naivety can be excused.