Dropped Kerb - Buying an House

deanomeara

Hi,
We are in the process of purchasing a house and was hoping to complete by the 2nd of December however my Solicitor has pointed out the dropped kerb used for the driveway was not authorised by the council and after asking the sellers solicitor the response we received was that she was not aware she needed to apply for this and is happy to put it back as previously.

This has raised some concerns as the house is on a main road and it would be terrible for parking it is was not for the driveway.

I am after some advice or previous experience from anyone else who has had this same situation, in my opinion the house value has decreased given the kerb was not authorised and this means effectively there is no off-street parking. I also have to factor in the cost to put this right and the possibility the application may get declined for whatever reason which means we will never have off street parking and we have paid for a house with off street parking.

Makes me wonder if they did put in an application and it got declined and they proceeded anyways however I have emailed the council to check this.

What are others thoughts on this?

Thanks.

G_M

How long has this unauthorised dropped kerb been there?

Unless it is just a short time (say 12 months or less) the worst 2 things you can do are
1) email the council and
b) ask the sellers to get it authorised.

All you are likely to achieve is some workmen coming round from the council (now that you've alerted them) and re-instating the original kerb (probobly then sending the bill to the sellers as well.

This will result in
3) p*ssing off the sellers
4) making you withdraw from the purchase as you'll not have the parking you want
5) reducing the value of the property for the sellers when they eventually find another buyer

Well done!

If it's been like that for a significant period of time, just buy the property and continue using the drive as the sellers have been doing.

If the dropped kerb is recent, that is another matter as the council may take note and take action anyway.

Is there a particular reason why the council might object? Is it near a junction, corner or bend? Are there other properties nearby with dropped kerbs? How long is the drive?

glentoran99

and even it was re-instated you could still drive over the path to the driveway

PasturesNew

glentoran99 wrote: »

and even it was re-instated you could still drive over the path to the driveway

Councils can be bitter... you could expect to come home one night to discover they've planted a brand new street light slap bang in the middle of where you'd expected to drive over.

deanomeara

Thanks for the reply.
Not sure how long it has been there but the Kerb installed certainly stands out from the others that are not lowered so I suspect not very long plus the driveway is not in the best of condition (doesnt look complete) , the seller has simply knocked down the wall that was once a garden to allow two cars to park out front.

Thanks for the advice telling me to continue to use the drive as the seller has been doing but I would prefer to ensure it is legal and that nothing can come back on me or I do not get a significant bill in the future.

deanomeara

Isn't driving over a Kerb that is isn't lowered against the law? I thought it was classed as dangerous driving.

lincroft1710

deanomeara wrote: »

Isn't driving over a Kerb that is isn't lowered against the law? I thought it was classed as dangerous driving.

It would only be classed as dangerous driving if you drove over a kerb and recklessly killed a pedestrian pr pedestrians.

TheShape

deanomeara wrote: »

Isn't driving over a Kerb that is isn't lowered against the law? I thought it was classed as dangerous driving.

Wouldn't be dangerous driving but it is an offence. You could be fined, billed for the cost of any damage to the kerb and the local council could install a bollard on the pavement to prevent access, perhaps even while your vehicle is on the drive, preventing you from exiting your driveway.

glentoran99

TheShape wrote: »

Wouldn't be dangerous driving but it is an offence. You could be fined, billed for the cost of any damage to the kerb and the local council could install a bollard on the pavement to prevent access, perhaps even while your vehicle is on the drive, preventing you from exiting your driveway.

That is certainly not true

teddysmum

Neighbours had a wider strip of kerb dropped and the council replaced the paving stones with asphalt.


As that part of the street is on a steep slope, I contacted the council, concerned that the new area could be a slipping hazard (It looks bad, too, as the rest of the pavement is paved), but they said it was tested and believed to be a safe surface.


They told me that, for financial reasons, paving stones are no longer used where new vehicular access is introduced, as they are more prone to damage by the vehicles' weight. (I just hope the poor neighbour has not forked out for as poor a quality as the pavement in the next road, as after two years, it is crumbling away into potholes).

Miss_Samantha

It's not clear to me whether driving over the pavement to access your property is an offence at all.

Rule 145 of the Highway Code:

You MUST NOT drive on or over a pavement, footpath or bridleway except to gain lawful access to property, or in the case of an emergency.

They quote s.34 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, which contain the following exemption:

(3) It is not an offence under this section to drive a mechanically propelled vehicle on any land within fifteen yards of a road, being a road on which a motor vehicle may lawfully be driven, for the purpose only of parking the vehicle on that land.

My understanding is also that the only way to get penalised is for a police officer to see you doing it, or perhaps for someone filming you then giving the video to the police.