Rough quote for new driveway

TELLIT01

This from Nottinghamshire Council

It is illegal to drive over a footway to access private property without an approved dropped kerb. Doing so can result in fines, liability for repairs, and damage to your vehicle.

Therefore the property owner is not gaining 'lawful access'.

Section62

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81954613#Comment_81954613

Lots of councils say the same or a similar thing. That doesn't make it true.

Section 184 of the Highways Act 1980 is here. Where does it say that it is "illegal to drive over a footway to access private property without an approved dropped kerb" ?

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1980/66/section/184

Therefore the property owner is not gaining 'lawful access'.

You're making a circular argument. I.e. that it is "illegal" because it isn't 'lawful access', and not 'lawful access' because it is "illegal".

For it to be "illegal" there should be a quotable law which says it is illegal. Claims like Nottinghamshire's either don't state the law, or make a vague reference to S184 of the Highways Act 1980. If you submit a FOI to them asking what specific law they are referring to the response is likely to be wibble.

'Lawful access' in Rule 145 means that there has to be an extant right in common law for access to neighbouring land from the highway. Which there is, unless that right has been restricted by a Section 184(1)(b) notice, or a planning enforcement notice, or something similar.

The statement "illegal to drive over a footway to access private property without an approved dropped kerb" is legal nonsense. If true it would mean it was illegal to use a vehicle crossover constructed before the 'approval' process came into existance, and illegal to use an entrance where no dropped kerb was required. It would also render S184(1)(b) redundant, because it would be illegal to drive across a footway or verge even if you complied with the 'reasonable conditions' set out in the notice.

As I said in my previous post, if you don't believe me, have a read of page 68 of Michael Orlik's excellent "An Introduction to Highway Law".

HeBelial

So the space is 8m by 4m. However there is a gas pipe running to the metre box down the side. So we’d have to make the drive 6/7m wide instead. We are booking some official quotes in with local builders

Section62

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81955199#Comment_81955199

The council will want a minimum bay depth of 4.8m, so the new retaining wall would have to be closer to the house than the existing one.

Are you getting quotes or estimates? TBH until you've had a structural engineer advise on what is needed, you should treat any quotes/estimates as rough ballpark figures only. Probably adding 50% for contingency as an absolute minimum.

Did you find out if there is a sewer in the front garden?

HeBelial

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81955227#Comment_81955227

I contacted west wales utilities, gas have got back to me so far. National grid asked for further info which I have sent. Weirdly one of the builders I contact owned the house and sold it in 2021. He knew about the gas pipe down the side, said he looked at putting in a drive when he lived there but didn’t. He didnt mention there’s any other utilities in the front. he knows the site and said he will quote me without visiting it. I have contacted other local people for quotes and will have them visit the site, they should know the area

HeBelial

you have been very helpful section62, I have updated the builder with a 5m depth. When I next go to the property I’ll see how much front patio that’ll leave me with

HeBelial

I found 3 people on trust a trader with good reviews. first quote came back 27,810 which is for k rend and tarmac finish and re-laying the existing patio slabs at the top for the patio.
he said he didn’t expect it to go above that unless there’s something unexpected in the ground but from looking at the utilities it’s just the gas pipe we already know about. Other two are coming to view next week

Are there any questions I should ask

Section62

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81964771#Comment_81964771

Sounds very cheap.

What will he be building the wall with, and how will he support the ground behind the wall while excavating and building the wall?

Have you got an accurate figure for the retained soil height yet?

FreeBear

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81964771#Comment_81964771

For a tarmac drive, you'll need to install drainage to comply with building regulations. The drainage will require a soakaway, and I doubt that you have space for a compliant one. That said, you can get permeable tarmac, but it isn't cheap.

First question to ask is how thick will the sub-base be - For a driveway, it wants to be somewhere in the region of 150mm of compacted MOT1 or crushed concrete/brick (my drive base is 150-200mm). Any less, and you'll find it sinks where your car wheels go. If they propose lobbing in building rubble, find another contractor.

You may find the patio area also needs digging out and 75-100mm of MOT1 put down. Much will depend on what the existing slabs are sitting on. Paving Expert is a useful site to get specs for patio & drives. It also covers stuff like drainage and types of paving.

HeBelial

it said in his quote that it included soak away and drainage. Plus the planning etc, and the drop cerb. I can ask the other questions, I might wait until all the quotes come in and I’ll ask the questions to the one I choose.
the very back retaining wall will be between 5-6ft just eyeballing it. The current retaining wall at the front is maybe 4ft.
he’s good reviews, on trust a trader, Facebook and Google.. not sure where else I would look to check if someone was dodgy

my uncle is a retired site manager, on commercial sites in England and he left it a couple of years ago so not exactly the same job, but he think this would cost 35,000 in SE England so makes sense in SW wales it’s a little cheaper due to lower overheads. We’ll see what the other quotes say, maybe this one is an outlier