Interested in property - but issue with driveway?

greenpea_8

Hello,
I am interested in a purchasing a property (for the first time) that is in a good area and the property itself is great. However, the main issue at the moment is the potential for a driveway. Most of the neighboring properties have a driveway, apparently put in with no issues, so there may be precedent we can use to our advantage when requesting planning permission. But the unique challenge for this property is that there seems to be a telecoms box (?) and a stairwell in the way of this particular property (see pics attached - the red line is the boundaries for the driveway). 
Does anyone have any experience of (i) what this box is? (ii) whether the box and stairwell may need to be moved to make space for the driveway (and is this expensive?) and (iii) any advice on how to approach this issue? The agents/vendors are unable to provide further information.
TIA!

Grumpy_chap

greenpea_8 said:

Hello,
I am interested in a purchasing a property (for the first time) that is in a good area and the property itself is great. However, the main issue at the moment is the potential for a driveway. Most of the neighboring properties have a driveway, apparently put in with no issues, so there may be precedent we can use to our advantage when requesting planning permission. But the unique challenge for this property is that there seems to be a telecoms box (?) and a stairwell in the way of this particular property (see pics attached - the red line is the boundaries for the driveway). 
Does anyone have any experience of (i) what this box is? (ii) whether the box and stairwell may need to be moved to make space for the driveway (and is this expensive?) and (iii) any advice on how to approach this issue? The agents/vendors are unable to provide further information.
TIA!

The property to the left does not appear to have a driveway in those photos - only a block paved garden (but without the driveway access).

I think I would assume that a driveway to the middle property will not be possible.  Have you checked the planning guidance for your local authority with regard to widths, splays etc?  How does that compare to the width available?

user1977

Does the property own any of that verge/pavement? I would have thought the verge/pavements/steps are all part of the adopted highway, so you'd have to buy (or at least get consent) from the council to do anything with it.

In practice I think you'd need to accept that you're buying it as it is, rather than have any guarantees about future development.

Section62

greenpea_8 said:

Most of the neighboring properties have a driveway, apparently put in with no issues, so there may be precedent we can use to our advantage when requesting planning permission.

Precedent doesn't really apply in this kind of situation.  Planning (and highway) decisions are made on a case-by-case basis, each one on its own merits and according to the current law/guidance/policy.  The council may well have changed their policy since the last neighbouring property got its driveway.

greenpea_8 said:

Does anyone have any experience of (i) what this box is?

It could be BT/Openreach, or it could be cable.  It is also possible it could be for the electricity supply, or the cabinet for controlling the local street lighting.  There are also other possibilities - the highway authority would make their own enquiries if you get as far as applying for a crossover.

greenpea_8 said:

(ii) whether the box and stairwell may need to be moved to make space for the driveway (and is this expensive?)

Probably (almost certainly) "yes" and "yes".  Getting a crossover put in here won't be cheap for several reasons.

Is the car on the left parked in some kind of layby or parking space?  The grass and the driveway to the right of the picture appear to extend out further towards the camera position - so the driveway on the right is at a slightly less steep slope than the one for your prospective property would be.  It is hard to tell from the pictures, but I think the slope up where you've indicated with the red lines is probably too steep to be safely used.  If there is a layby or similar then that may need to be filled in to allow for a shallower sloped driveway.

greenpea_8 said:

and (iii) any advice on how to approach this issue?

Usually you start by asking the council's highway department to provide you with a quote - firstly they ask you to pay them some money, then they will do a survey. Usually you have to own the property first.

Assuming the council are willing to agree to the crossover, I'd expect the costs for this one to be far more than typical.  I would probably budget at least £20k, but it could be a lot more depending on what that cabinet is for.

Sapindus

It looks like the car on the left is parked in a parking bay that does not extend in front of the steps and the house on the right.  This may have a significant effect on the chances of being allowed to build a driveway to the house in the middle.

ThisIsWeird

I don't fully understand the situation here.

The house to the right seemingly has easy road access to their drive - it can be seen as that tarmac road on the right. How does the LH house - yellow arrow - have access to their drive?

Is that an access road running along in front of them all? If so, why couldn't you use this too?

greenpea_8

ThisIsWeird said:

I don't fully understand the situation here.

The house to the right seemingly has easy road access to their drive - it can be seen as that tarmac road on the right. How does the LH house - yellow arrow - have access to their drive?

Is that an access road running along in front of them all? If so, why couldn't you use this too?

Thanks everyone. Just to clarify, that car is parked on the side of the road, it's not a specific parking bay.

Also - that is a pavement, not a road. On the right, you can see the driveway has to extend down to the main road and over the verge and pedestrian pavement. My understanding is that the house of the left has since put an extended, dropped driveway down the road. 

greenpea_8

These are perhaps better images of the area- 

ProDave

I would start by measuring the dimensions of your neighbours drive and then see if the same width, including the splay near the road, would fit in between the steps and the roadside box.

If it won't then that adds a whole level of complication and cost to the prospect of having your own drive.

It might be simpler to just keep looking for a house that already has a drive.

Herzlos

Surely a driveway would go in place of the steps, not beside them? It looks like the neighbouring drives are in the middle of the property where the steps are, as if a previous owner chose them rather than a driveway.

ThisIsWeird

I suspect - but don't know - that there weren't steps for each property that they subsequently turned into their drives. If that is a pavement running along in front of each house, then good chance these are the only steps down to the road for a fair stretch.
If so, it's likely a pedestrian RoW.
Geenpea, you'd need to see the deeds - you can quickly download a copy from LR for around £3, I understand. See who 'owns' these steps, and also what easements or covenants may be on it.
If it would be fully yours, with no other rights over it, then - by the looks of it - you should be good to repeat what your neighb's have done, and miss that BT box.