Kerb Dropping
DROP CROSSING UPDATE: March 2023. There is currently a high demand for drop crossings and we are working very hard to get through all enquiries (and processing payments), as quickly as possible.
Please note, depending on Contractor availability, there may be some delays in the construction of vehicle crossings, which we review on a weekly basis.
Frequently Asked Questions
The council provides a quotation and construction service if you need to drop the kerb outside your property for the purposes of crossing the public footway to access your land or driveway. Permission is required from the council in order to construct this crossing. If the property is rented (e.g. from Jigsaw Homes or other Housing Associations) their permission to take a vehicle onto their land will also be required.
Do I need a dropped kerb?
If you intend to drive a vehicle over the footway into your driveway off a highway, then you will need a dropped kerb. If you do not have dropped kerb, you must not drive over the footway. If you do so, you are breaking the law and enforcement action could be taken to prevent such practice. Furthermore:
- You may become liable from a collision with a pedestrian
- You may become liable for damage to the footway
- You may face considerable costs as a result of damage to any utility apparatus under the footway
How do I apply for a quotation?
An application can be made by completing the on line request for a quotation.
Following your request an officer will contact you providing a customer reference number and details of how to pay the Quotation Fee - £35.00. This fee will be deducted from the crossing total on your official quotation.
Once the quotation fee has been paid by yourself, an officer will attend site and record measurements and take photographs of the existing footway outside your property. Within the following 10 days a quotation will be sent via email (if provided) or through the post to the address given,
If you would like to meet the officer during the site visit, please make arrangements with Chris Williams once the quotation fee has been paid.
kerbquery@tameside.gov.uk or 0161 342 4248
How much will it cost?
The cost depends on the area of the footpath used to access the driveway i.e the amount of kerbs that need to be adjusted and how wide the footpath is from the kerbs to your boundary line. There are additional costs to consider such as Utility Boxes, Grass Verges, Lighting Columns etc.
For a detailed quote, please complete the online application form. All enquiries will be priced individually and are site specific.
Full payment is required before construction of the crossing can commence.
OVERHEAD VIEW OF A STANDARD 5 KERB CROSSING
SIDE ELEVATION VIEW OF A STANDARD 5 KERB CROSSING
Any areas that fall outside the above chart shall be quoted individually dependant on their specific needs.
What work is involved for the cost?
The kerbs will be replaced with lower units and slanted kerbs to each side of the crossing for the new construction. For an existing crossing, this will be extended where appropriate. The crossing will be excavated and rebuilt to protect all underground utility apparatus from any damage. If the proposed crossing is for the use of Heavy Goods Vehicles, then a commercial crossing is required and notification of this is required prior to the quotation stage.
How do I pay for the crossing?
You can pay for the quotation fee and any outstanding monies on line here
When Does Construction begin?
Once full payment has been cleared and your driveway construction is complete, your crossing will be added to the works programme. Wherever possible we aim to complete crossings within 28 working days from receipt of payment.
How Long Does The Work Take?
The actual build will be carried out over a 5 to 7 day period (weather depending).
Can I Use My Own Contractor?
By obtaining an ‘OPENING UP NOTICE FOR HIGHWAYS’ It is possible to use your own contractor providing they conform to the criteria below:
- The contractor has full NRSWA staff accreditation
- Public Liability Insurance, a minimum of £10,000,000 (million pounds)
- Planning consent where applicable
- Possession of vehicle crossing installation standard details from the highway authority
- Full service/utility drawings for the location
- Conform to all chapter 8 guidelines for working on the highway
To apply to use your own contractor please click here https://www.tameside.gov.uk/Engineers/Working-in-the-Public-Highway-Opening-Up-the-Hig
Please note that there is a fee payable for obtaining an ‘Opening Up Notice’
Do the Council construct private driveways within a property?
No.
Contractors can be located in the local newspaper, yellow pages, Thomson local or on Tameside Council ‘Buy with confidence’ scheme located on Tameside MBC public website
Do I need planning consent?
Before submitting a request for a quotation you must ascertain whether the road is:
- Trunk Road
- Principal Road
- Classified Roads - Class 1 or Class 2
- Unclassified
- Unadopted
Please check with: kerbquery@tameside.gov.uk or 0161 3424248
If the vehicle crossing is to be positioned on a Principal road or Classified road then planning permission must be obtained through the planning department. There is a charge for this service.
If your application is refused by the Planning Authority, you will receive a letter stating the reasons why and you have a right to appeal to:
The Secretary of State
Planning Inspectorate
Tollgate House
Houlton Street
Bristol
BS2 9DR
‘Please Note’ Unadopted roads or Unclassified roads may have Land Easements, Rights of Way, Land Title or Ownership issues. TMBC will not be held responsible in full or part for any land or ownership issues/contraventions before or after installation.
The occupier/resident takes full responsibility for the instruction given to install.
Please consult your solicitor to clarify the above.
Can I be refused a crossing?
You can be refused a crossing installation and reasons can be individual to that location.
The points below may prohibit or offer guidance to a proposed dropped crossing:
- Your property is on a bend or at a road junction
- A tree is in the proposed crossing
- Street furniture or a street lamp may impede access
- Your property is close to traffic signals
- There is a steep slope between your property and the road
- There is insufficient garden area
- There is insufficient visibility
Who owns the crossing on completion?
The construction of a vehicle crossing by TMBC remains part of the public highway and does not give the resident/occupier any legal right of ownership to the land or license to police that crossing in any way.
However, your new crossing does provide full acceptable rights to drive across the footway/highway land to gain access to your (your landlords) property or use of land developed and deemed suitable for off road parking.
What type of vehicles can be used on the crossing?
A domestic vehicle crossing may only be used by a private light goods or similar vehicle. It may not be used by a heavy goods vehicle or any form of mechanical equipment. If a delivery, such as a skip, is made into the property, and in doing so damages the crossing, any repairs to the crossing will be the responsibility of the owner/occupier.
Are there any legal considerations?
Gates or any other obstructions across the vehicle entrance to your property or land should not open outwards across a footpath or carriageway. (Highways Act 1980 – section 153)
Any land that is a not a dedicated Highway, unclassified or unadopted roads may require a Legal Land Easement if the dropped kerb crosses that land. Land Title, Rights of Way or Ownership issues may also have to be considered.
Please consult your solicitor to clarify the above. TMBC will not be held responsible in full or part for any land or ownership issues/contraventions before or after installation.
The occupier/resident takes full responsibility for the instruction given to install.
Please consult your solicitor to clarify the above.
However, there may be circumstances, under this section of the Act, headed - Doors etc. in streets not to open outwards, where the Local Authority could consent to the gates opening outwards if it was felt this was expedient and in circumstances where the highway was not obstructed
- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1980/66/section/153 refers to this and in particular for ease of reference:
- A door, gate or bar which is put up on any premises and opens on a street shall be so put up as not to open outwards unless, in the case of a door, gate or bar put up on a public building, the local authority for the area in which the building is situated and also, if the street is a highway, the highway authority consent to its being otherwise put up.
- Where a door, gate or bar is put up on any premises in contravention of subsection (1) above the local authority for the area in which the premises are situated or alternatively, if the street concerned is a highway, the highway authority may, by notice to the occupier, require him to alter, so as not to open outwards, the door, gate or bar.
Please note: at any given time, Utility companies such as United Utilities or Cadent Gas etc. can dig up the footway to gain access to their assets, that are underground; therefore, there are no guarantee our works will be free from future reinstatements.
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Engineering Services
Tame Street Depot
Tame Street
Stalybridge
Tameside
SK15 1ST
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