dropped kerb / offroad parking : planning permission (and refusal!)

[Maurice W]

Chums

I'm slowly (as is my wont) progressing thoughts about asking for a dropped kerb permission, to park on the front garden. (The nature of the road is that is required planning permission).

The local council are being helpful in email communication, but their latest states

xxx Rd is classified as a Secondary Distributor Road and the Highway Authority would not allow the formation of a vehicle access without an off street turning arrangement. Clearly, this would not be achievable within the dimensions of your front garden and any planning application would be recommended for refusal.

which appears to be saying that they're expecting the vehicle access to be big enough to turn a vehicle around on it. The neighbouring houses all have narrower gardens, being terraced, and one actually has a picasso parked on it, which pretty much takes up all the available space when its parked on there, never mind being able to turn it!

Of all the houses, ours has the widest garden, but on account of a bay window, it's not as deep. On account of this, our intention is to buy a super-mini, which would actually be small enough to turn on the parking space in front of the house.

Anyone had experience of this specific objections to a dropped kerb?

M

[Andrew May]

No experience of planning permission refusal but ISTR that there ws an episode of Property Ladder where they showed a turntable as a solution to parking problems. Cottage near Ross-on-Wye IIRC.

Andrew

[Harry Bloomfield]

Maurice W presented the following explanation :

As mentioned by Andrew - you can buy a drive on turn table, which allows a car to be spun around in just a little more than its own length.

[Steven]

Don't know about the regs but doubt very the car you would be using would have anything to do with their decision. If it did, then you could tell them you want to put a driveway in /drop the kerb to accommodate a motor bike.

S.

[Owain]

They're unlikely to allow that as you or a future occupant, or even a visitor, could have a larger car.

The answer is, as others have said, a turntable.

Owain

[Mary Fisher]

Wossat then?

...

In our street people just do it themselves.

It's messy but ...

Mary

[Frank Erskine]

The trouble with tampering with the footway like that is that as soon as a pedestrian has any accident - slipping, tripping or whatever, even if it isn't your fault, the LA will (rightly) wash their hands of the matter and the pedestrian may very well sue you.

[Mitch]

Even if you get it agreed our local council quoted me £800 just to lower the kerb - I figured its cheaper to lay the drive and leave the kerb as is - been working for me for 5 years no probs!

[cerberus]

As far as I see it, they'll refuse any planning application because it is in breach of the Highway Code to reverse onto a highway and as such could be construed to be a breach of the Road Traffic Act.

As others have said, you'd be better with something like this;

[Roger Mills]

I have heard it claimed (here, I think) that you are breaking the law if you drive over a footpath which *doesn't* have a dropped kerb. Don't know whether it's true - but it would be worth checking.

[Mogga]

On my street someone's using a large plank of wood.

>

[The Real Doctor]

Shouldn't "they" also then be banning the sale of cars which can exceed the speed limit, or bags of self raising flour which could be used to assault people?

If reversing onto the road is a problem, just reverse off it. Problem solved. This sounds like an excuse for stopping people turning their front gardens into car parks. Mind you, I have some sympathy with that aim.

Ian

[Mike Clarke]

Isn't it more likely to do the opposite. Instead of having just a normal driveway to park the car on they'll be paving a much bigger area to provide turning space.

[Harry Bloomfield]

Roger Mills presented the following explanation :

That is true as is parking part on a kerb, but both laws are widely ignored. In our street only one house in ten with a drive has a legal dropped kerb for access - ours is one of those one in ten.

In your situation - I would check around to see how many others on your street have a proper dropped kerb and if several have got away with it

- just create a drive without one.

I think legally there is the advantage with a legal dropped kerb that if someone parks across the entrance the obstruction law will more likely be enforced.

[Steven]

I remember a traffic cop going up a street I used to live at and putting tickets on cars that had parked facing the wrong way. i.e. they had to cross the opposite lane of traffic to drive off!! I guess they were really bored that day and looking for something to do.

Steven.

[Mary Fisher]

We use a couple of wedges of wood laid on the road to ease the caravan wheels from the gutter (cambered) over the road kerb. We painted marks on the kerb to make positioning easy.

Mary

[Mary Fisher]

I can't understand why anybody drives into a drive in the first place. It's easier to reverse in and drive out.

I might have missed something of course ...

Mary

[nightjar]

That is only an offence after lighting up time, as cars parked facing the wrong way cannot show the correct colours of lights, which includes reflectors and numberplate backgrounds.

Colin Bignell

[nightjar]

The primary legislation is Section 72 of the Highways Act 1835, which prohibits driving on that part of the highway set aside for the use of pedestrians. There are also provisions in the Road Traffic Acts that apply. Proper authority for a dropped kerb includes permission under the relevant legislation to cross the footway for the purpose of access.

Colin Bignell

[nightjar]

In the absence of any waiting restrictions or local bye-laws, there is nothing inherently illegal about parking on the pavement. It is, however, usually quite difficult to do that without driving on it, which is illegal.

...

More important, you can apply for a white line entrance marking, which is surprisingly effective at stopping people from doing so.

Colin Bignell