Dropped kerb consent and the section 184 application

A dropped kerb needs consent from the highway authority under section 184 of the Highways Act 1980, and on some roads it also needs planning permission. Those are two separate applications to two different teams, and getting the section 184 approved does not mean the planning side is dealt with. Most householders find this out after paying for the first one.

The good news is that the planning question has a clear answer, and it turns on what sort of road you live on.

Two consents, not one

Section 184 covers the crossing itself: the alteration of the footway or verge so a vehicle can cross it lawfully. Only the highway authority can grant it, because it owns the highway and will be responsible for the construction. In a county area that is the county council, in a unitary or London borough it is the council itself, on a red route in London it is Transport for London, and on a trunk road it is National Highways.

Planning permission, where it is needed, covers the formation of the access as development. It is decided by the local planning authority, which in a two tier area is the district or borough, not the county.

Forming a crossing without section 184 consent is unlawful, and driving across a footway where no crossing exists can amount to damaging the highway. Authorities do enforce this, usually by requiring reinstatement at the owner's cost.

When planning permission is needed

Class B of Part 2 of Schedule 2 to the GPDO 2015 permits the formation of a means of access to a highway that is not a trunk road or a classified road, where the access is needed in connection with development permitted by another Class in the Schedule.

Read that as two conditions. The road must be unclassified, and the access must serve something the Order already permits, which for most householders is the hardstanding permitted by Class F of Part 1.

So the ordinary case, a driveway onto an unclassified residential street, needs no planning application. An access onto a classified road, which includes A, B and C roads, or onto a trunk road, does need planning permission. If you are unsure which category your road falls into, the highway authority will tell you, and it is the first question to ask.

Three situations take you outside the permitted route regardless of the road classification.

• The property is a flat or maisonette, or the building contains flats, because Part 1 does not apply to it at all.
• A planning condition or an Article 4 direction has removed the relevant rights.
• The property is a listed building, where works within the curtilage may need listed building consent even if planning permission is not required.

The front garden drainage rule

Class F permits a hard surface within the curtilage of a house, but with a condition that matters. Where the surface would be situated between the principal elevation and a highway, it must either be made of porous materials, or provision must be made to direct run-off from the surface to a permeable or porous area or surface within the curtilage.

That rule has been in place since 2008 and it is the reason so many front drives are now block paving on a permeable sub-base, or gravel, or paving laid to fall towards a planted border. Laying an impermeable slab across a front garden, with the water running onto the street, is not permitted development and the council can require it to be taken up.

Design it in from the start. A soakaway trench along the boundary or a permeable strip is far less trouble than relaying a driveway.

What the highway authority actually checks

The section 184 assessment is technical and reasonably predictable.

• Visibility in both directions from the proposed access, measured to the authority's standard for the road's speed.
• Distance from a junction, a bend, a pedestrian crossing, a bus stop or a school entrance.
• Whether the depth of the hardstanding behind the footway is enough that a parked car does not overhang the public footway. Many authorities set a minimum, commonly around 4.8 m, so check the published standard before you draw anything.
• Street furniture and apparatus in the way: lamp columns, drainage gullies, telecommunications chambers, electricity boxes. Moving these is possible and the cost falls on you.
• Street trees, which frequently stop a proposal outright, and which may be protected in their own right.
• On-street parking bays, loading restrictions and controlled parking zone markings, since a crossing removes usable kerb space.
• Whether a vehicle can enter and leave the site safely, and on busier roads whether it can do so in forward gear, which can mean a turning area within the plot.

Gradient matters too. A steep front garden may need excavation and a retaining structure, which brings its own drainage and boundary questions.

Cost, timescales and who does the work

Highway authorities publish their charges, and they are set locally rather than nationally, so check the current schedule for your authority rather than relying on a figure quoted anywhere else.

Expect three cost elements. An application or inspection fee. The construction cost, which usually has to be carried out by the authority or by a contractor on its approved list, because the works form part of the adopted highway. And any diversion of apparatus, which is quoted separately by the utility company and is the item most likely to surprise you.

Timescales vary by authority and by season. Applications made in the run up to the financial year end can sit behind a queue of programmed works. Ask for an indicative timetable when you apply.

Illustrative example: a householder on a suburban classified road applies for a crossover. The highway authority is content with visibility. The planning authority refuses, because the road is classified and the loss of two on-street parking spaces in a street with heavy overspill parking was judged to outweigh the benefit. Both consents were needed, and only one was ever likely.

If it is refused

For a refused planning application, the usual routes apply: revise and resubmit, or appeal to the Planning Inspectorate within the relevant deadline. Where the reason was highway safety, evidence about visibility, speeds and existing accesses of similar geometry in the same street is what changes minds. A short transport statement prepared properly does more than a letter of objection to the objection.

Where the highway authority has refused under section 184, ask for the reason in writing and whether a modified design would be acceptable: a narrower crossing, a different position along the frontage, or a shared crossing with a neighbour. Section 184 is a highway decision and there is no planning appeal against it.

Where you do need a planning application, keep it short and specific. A planning statement covering the road classification, the visibility achieved, the parking effect and the drainage design answers the questions the officer will ask in the order they will ask them.

This is general guidance rather than legal advice. A lawful development certificate is the only formal way to confirm that works are lawful, so check the position with your local planning authority or a qualified professional before relying on any rule of thumb about permitted development.

Enter your postcode on PlanScope to see which supporting documents an access application on your street is likely to need. PlanScope provides AI-assisted draft reports for planning applications. Reports should be reviewed before submission. We do not guarantee planning approval.