Dropped kerbs and driveways: two consents, one project

Dropped kerb planning permission is two applications that people treat as one. The kerb itself is a highways matter, decided by the highway authority under section 184 of the Highways Act 1980. The driveway behind it is a planning matter, usually covered by permitted development but with a surfacing condition that catches most front gardens. Approving one does not approve the other, and a crossover consent granted in March is worth nothing if the planning position on the hard standing was never checked.

Householders find this out in the wrong order. The paving goes down, the council writes about surface water, and the crossover application is refused because the visibility splay is blocked by the new wall.

Why the kerb and the driveway are separate approvals

The public footway and the verge belong to the highway authority. Lowering the kerb, reconstructing the footway to take vehicle loads and adjusting any gully or duct beneath it are works to the public highway, so they need the authority's consent and are carried out to its specification. In a two-tier area that authority is the county council, not the district that handles your planning applications. In a unitary or London borough it is the same organisation, but a different team.

The area inside your boundary is different. Laying a hard surface within the curtilage of a house is development, and it is granted permission by Class F of Part 1 of the General Permitted Development Order 2015 rather than by an application. Class F comes with a condition attached, and that condition is where most schemes go wrong.

The 5 m2 rule for front garden surfacing

Where the hard surface sits between the principal elevation of the house and a highway, and it exceeds 5 square metres, Class F only permits it if one of two things is true. Either the surface is made of porous materials, or provision is made to direct the run-off to a permeable or porous area within the curtilage.

That is the whole test. Not the material you prefer, not the appearance, not whether the neighbours have block paving. Permeable block paving with an open-graded sub-base satisfies the first limb. Impermeable slabs falling to a gravel strip, a rain garden or a soakaway inside the boundary satisfy the second. Impermeable slabs falling towards the pavement satisfy neither, and they also risk falling foul of the separate rule against discharging surface water onto the public highway.

Under 5 square metres the condition does not bite, though a tiny hard standing is rarely what anyone wants. Design the drainage first and choose the finish second. A soakaway sized for the paved area and set clear of foundations costs less at design stage than a retrofitted channel drain after a complaint.

Article 4 directions can remove Class F in conservation areas and some estates, and the right does not apply to flats or maisonettes at all. Check the property's constraints before assuming the right exists, and remember that a lawful development certificate is the only formal way to confirm that works are lawful.

Classified roads and where permitted development stops

Forming a new means of access to a classified road is not permitted development. Part 2 Class B of the Order covers the formation of an access required in connection with permitted development, but it expressly excludes trunk roads and classified roads. A, B and some C roads carry classification numbers, and the highway authority holds the definitive list.

So a new drive onto a classified road needs a full planning application as well as the section 184 consent. That application is judged on highway safety: visibility in both directions, whether reversing onto the carriageway is acceptable, the effect of losing on-street parking, and whether the turning space inside the plot lets a car leave in forward gear. Support it with a short planning statement that deals with those points and includes a swept path or turning geometry sketch where the plot is tight.

Widening an existing access is treated as forming a new one where the alteration is material, and an unclassified road access formed in connection with a house is generally within Class B provided the works stay within the limits of the Class.

Applying to the highway authority for a crossover

The procedure varies between authorities, but the shape is consistent:

1. Apply on the authority's vehicle crossing form with a plan showing the proposed position, the width and the position of any street furniture, gully or tree.
2. Pay an assessment or inspection fee, which is separate from the construction cost.
3. Wait for the site assessment, in which an officer checks visibility, the footway construction, apparatus below ground and the effect on the parking bay or waiting restriction.
4. Receive a quotation for the works. Many authorities carry them out themselves; others license an approved contractor. Very few let you do it yourself.
5. Book the works and pay before the crossing is built. Utility diversions are quoted separately by each undertaker.

Ask at the outset whether the authority requires the planning position to be resolved first. Where a full application is needed for the access, most will want to see the permission before they issue a quotation, and the two processes together can run past three months.

Visibility, gradients and what the assessment covers

Visibility splays are the usual sticking point. The authority measures from a set-back point inside the access along the nearside kerb in each direction, and the required distance depends on the road's speed. Front boundary walls, hedges, parked trailers and the neighbour's cypress all sit inside that triangle, and the authority can require the wall to be lowered as a condition of the crossing.

Gradient matters at both ends. A steep rise from the footway grounds a car and can push water back onto the pavement, so authorities set a maximum change of level over the first stretch inside the boundary. On a plot that already sits above the road, that can mean regrading a large part of the front garden or, occasionally, abandoning the position and moving the access along the frontage.

The other test is space. A vehicle standing on the crossing while a gate opens is a hazard on any busy road, and an authority will look for enough depth inside the boundary for a car to clear the footway. Gates that open outwards over the footway are not acceptable. The same principal elevation logic that governs side extensions on terraced houses applies here: what counts is the relationship between the works and the highway.

Trees, verges and street furniture

A lamp column, telecoms cabinet, gully, sign post or bus stop pole in the line of the crossing has to be moved, and the applicant pays. Quotations from the lighting authority or the utility can exceed the cost of the crossing itself, which is a reason to check the frontage before committing to a position.

Street trees are the hardest obstacle. Highway trees are the authority's asset and are rarely removed for a private access. A tree in your own front garden may be covered by a Tree Preservation Order or be protected by conservation area status, in which case works within the root protection area need consent and an arboricultural assessment prepared to BS 5837:2012. Excavating a driveway across roots without that work is the fastest route to an enforcement letter and a replacement planting notice.

Verge crossings need a constructed surface rather than two ruts. Driving repeatedly over a soft verge without a formed crossing is an offence, and the authority can reinstate it and recover the cost.

This is general guidance, not legal advice. Check the position with your local planning authority or a qualified professional before relying on it.

If the access needs a planning application as well as a crossover, enter your postcode on PlanScope to see which supporting documents the council will expect. PlanScope provides AI-assisted draft reports for planning applications. Reports should be reviewed before submission. We do not guarantee planning approval.