How do you get a dropped kerb installed in the UK?

A dropped kerb is highway work, so the route goes through the council rather than being something you can simply build yourself. This page walks through the typical process.

Step one: apply to the council

Because the footway, verge and kerb are part of the public highway, only the council (the highway authority) can authorise a vehicle crossing over them. You cannot lawfully build a dropped kerb yourself or have a general contractor do it without council approval.

The first step is to apply to your local council's highways or vehicle crossover team. Most councils provide:

• An online or paper application form for a vehicle crossover (dropped kerb).
• A list of approved or licensed contractors permitted to work on the highway in their area.
• Guidance on their specification and fees.

You will typically need to provide your address, details of the proposed crossing location and width, and sometimes photos or a sketch. Some councils ask you to obtain a quote from an approved contractor as part of the application, while others arrange the assessment first and the construction afterwards. The exact procedure varies by council, so start by reading your own council's vehicle crossover page.

Step two: assessment and approval

Once you apply, the council carries out a highways assessment to decide whether a crossing can be safely created at that location. They consider:

• Visibility and road safety — can vehicles enter and leave safely, with adequate sightlines?
• Proximity to junctions, bends and crossings — crossings too close to these may be refused.
• Street furniture and services — lamp posts, telegraph poles, road gullies/drains, trees, bus stops or signs in the way. These may need relocating (at your cost) or may make the crossing unviable.
• Footway construction and width — whether the pavement can be reinforced to carry vehicles.
• Verges and grass — whether a verge must be made up as part of the crossing.
• Classified roads — crossings onto busier classified roads can attract extra scrutiny and may also need planning permission.

If the assessment is positive, the council issues approval (sometimes with conditions). If it is negative — for example the location is too close to a junction or a lamp post cannot be moved — the application can be refused, which is why it is wise to confirm the crossover is feasible before committing to driveway works.

Indicative process for guidance only — steps vary by council.

Step three: construction, costs and timescales

If approved, the dropped kerb must be built to the council's specification. Because it is work on the public highway, it is usually carried out by a council-approved or licensed contractor rather than any general builder. The work involves lowering the kerb, reinforcing the footway construction to take vehicle loads, and reinstating the surface, with the depth and materials set by the council.

Costs. You pay for the application/administration fee, the highways assessment, the construction by the approved contractor, and any associated works the council requires — such as relocating a street light, telegraph pole or drainage gully, or making up a verge. Costs vary considerably by council and by how much work the crossing needs, so the total is best confirmed with a quote from an approved contractor and the council's fee schedule.

Timescales. The process — application, assessment, approval and scheduling the construction — takes time, often several weeks or longer depending on the council's workload and whether any services need moving. Plan the crossover early in your driveway project rather than as an afterthought.

A reminder on the two separate consents: the dropped kerb is a highways approval, distinct from any planning consideration for the driveway surface (the front-garden drainage rules). A permeable driveway may need no planning permission yet still require this council crossover. Handle both together so the finished drive is fully lawful to use.

Common reasons applications stall, and how to plan around them

Many dropped-kerb applications are straightforward, but a fair number are delayed or refused for reasons that are predictable. Knowing them in advance lets you plan the access realistically rather than discovering a problem after the driveway is half-built.

Obstructions on the frontage. The most frequent stumbling block is something fixed in the footway directly outside the property — a lamp post, telegraph pole, road gully, traffic sign, tree or bus stop. The council will not site a crossover where a vehicle would have to mount or swerve around such an object. Sometimes the item can be relocated, but only at the homeowner's cost and with the relevant authority's agreement, which adds time and expense. Where a protected or mature street tree is involved, relocation may simply not be possible, and the application can be refused outright.

Road safety and position. Crossings too close to a junction, a bend, a pedestrian crossing or the brow of a hill are often refused on visibility and safety grounds. On a busier classified road the bar is higher still, and planning permission may be required in addition to the highways approval. If on-street parking is heavy, the council also considers whether a vehicle could realistically turn into the crossover. These are judgement calls made during the assessment, which is why an informal check or a feasibility enquiry before committing money is so valuable.

Footway build-up and verges. If the existing pavement is not constructed to take vehicle loads, or there is a grass verge to make up, the crossover involves more substantial reconstruction — raising the cost and the timescale. Drainage gullies that fall within the crossing may need adjusting so the channel still works. Planning around all this comes down to sequence: confirm the council considers the crossover feasible, arrange the work from an approved contractor that includes any service relocation, and only then schedule the driveway surfacing. Treating the crossover as the first hurdle rather than the last detail avoids the worst outcome — a newly paved drive that the council will not let you legally access — and keeps the whole project moving in the right order.

Frequently asked questions

Sources & further reading

• gov.uk — Dropped kerbs
• Planning Portal — Paving your front garden
• HomeOwners Alliance — Driveway ideas and costs

Figures on this page are typical UK ranges drawn from published sources and depend on your specific site. They are guidance, not a quotation.