Driveway...what to do

confusedftb

Hi All,

I was a first time buyer and maybe i have made quite a few of first time buyer errors.

The house i bought has a paved front. I thought as this looks like a driveway, there will not be trouble in asking the council to have dropped kerbs. However, the reality is quite different. Infront of the house there is a Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ). Checked the council's criteria for dropped kerb, and it says no dropped kerb if there is CPZ. What do it do now? Can i somehow explain/convince the council to drop the kerb infront of my house, or no point?
Moreover, the CPZ bay infront of the house is half on street and half on footpath, meaning even if take my car through the pavement i am not damaging it because the pavement must already be hardened. i know the law around it. 

I just want the kerb to be dropped. Any success stories would be lovely.

thank you 

NameUnavailable

If the criteria says no dropped kerb in a controlled zone that sounds pretty clear to me, but nothing to stop you phoning them on Tuesday and asking the question directly?

I guess if it's a CPZ they don't want to make parking for others even more difficult by losing one or two spaces for a dropped kerb, and they'd probably have to do quite a lot of work remarking the available parking areas/bays on the road.

confusedftb

NameUnavailable said:

If the criteria says no dropped kerb in a controlled zone that sounds pretty clear to me, but nothing to stop you phoning them on Tuesday and asking the question directly?

I guess if it's a CPZ they don't want to make parking for others even more difficult by losing one or two spaces for a dropped kerb, and they'd probably have to do quite a lot of work remarking the available parking areas/bays on the road.

i understand. on the street quite a few people do the same, they park on their driveway's without having a dropped kerb.. i am just conscious of parking tickets or etc. 

NameUnavailable

confusedftb said:

NameUnavailable said:

If the criteria says no dropped kerb in a controlled zone that sounds pretty clear to me, but nothing to stop you phoning them on Tuesday and asking the question directly?

I guess if it's a CPZ they don't want to make parking for others even more difficult by losing one or two spaces for a dropped kerb, and they'd probably have to do quite a lot of work remarking the available parking areas/bays on the road.

i understand. on the street quite a few people do the same, they park on their driveway's without having a dropped kerb.. i am just conscious of parking tickets or etc. 

The problem with that for you, apart from possibly getting a fine for crossing the pavement, is being blocked in by people then parking as they should in front of your house and blocking you in, with nothing you can do about it.

Grumpy_chap

What do you lose by applying for the dropped kerb?  They can only say no.

confusedftb

Grumpy_chap said:

What do you lose by applying for the dropped kerb?  They can only say no.

£170

[Deleted User]

Grumpy_chap said:

What do you lose by applying for the dropped kerb?  They can only say no.

confusedftb said:

Grumpy_chap said:

What do you lose by applying for the dropped kerb?  They can only say no.

£170

£240 !
Just did it here !
Then the cost of the job itself - £150 per kerbstone.

MoneySeeker1

I'd hazard a guess that you thought you were lucky paying a lower price for that house than equivalent houses nearby??

If a house seems like a bargain (comparatively speaking) then chances are it's because there is some obvious problem to the house that the seller knows most people will spot and therefore they wouldn't be prepared to pay as much for the house.

I can certainly think of one I know of currently for sale that is apparently up for sale for a bargain price - but that's because any experienced housebuyer would spot its "huge major defect" (to do with cars) pretty quickly and some obviously already have and have walked away. There are young would-be buyers looking at now - whilst I'm thinking "They're probably not experienced enough to realise what a bad idea that house is in some ways" and they haven't spotted the middle-aged/elderly viewers beetling away from the house fast - having discarded it from their list of "possibles" rather quickly.

I don't rate your chances - and I don't think you ought to be trying. Just accept you got a "bargain" for a reason and you now know what that reason is.

AdrianC

confusedftb said:

The house i bought has a paved front. I thought as this looks like a driveway, there will not be trouble in asking the council to have dropped kerbs. However, the reality is quite different. Infront of the house there is a Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ). Checked the council's criteria for dropped kerb, and it says no dropped kerb if there is CPZ. What do it do now? Can i somehow explain/convince the council to drop the kerb infront of my house, or no point?
Moreover, the CPZ bay infront of the house is half on street and half on footpath, meaning even if take my car through the pavement i am not damaging it because the pavement must already be hardened. i know the law around it. 

Then you know it is illegal to cross a pavement where there isn't a drop kerb, no matter what your front garden "looks like"...

If your neighbours are doing it anyway, then that makes the chances of the local authority taking notice and starting to actively prevent it higher, by installing barriers at the edge of the pavement.

Davesnave

MoneySeeker1 said:

I don't rate your chances - and I don't think you ought to be trying. Just accept you got a "bargain" for a reason and you now know what that reason is.

I don't rate the OP's chances either, but I see no evidence they paid less for the property. It's also slightly ageist to suggest that those who are young must somehow fall into property traps we older people would neatly avoid.

There are naive people in every generation.

Davesnave

confusedftb said:

. Any success stories would be lovely.

In planning, other people's successes don't necessarily count. Proposals are judged on their own merit and criteria are subject to periodic review.