Dropped Kerb in Nottingham: How to Apply and What It Costs

When you need a dropped kerb

A dropped kerb is a lowered, sloping access point in the pavement, and driving over a pavement onto your property without one is illegal, the Planning Portal says, while Nottingham City Council calls it breaking the law. Checkatrade lists the benefits as access, extra parking, safety, easier access for wheelchair and powered mobility users, and kerb appeal and saleability.

A new access across the footway needs the council’s permission to drop the kerbs, and the footway may need strengthening to protect buried services, the government’s guidance on permeable front gardens says. The kerb needs its own application to the local authority, the Planning Portal says, separate from any planning permission for the driveway, which a new or replacement drive of any size with a permeable surface does not need.

The kerb itself usually goes in after the driveway, but Checkatrade says to apply for it before any work starts, because if permission is refused you could end up with a driveway you cannot use.

Which council handles your dropped kerb

Which council handles a dropped kerb depends on your address, and GOV.UK’s Apply for a dropped kerb page finds your council’s page from your postcode. Nottingham City Council and Nottinghamshire County Council run different processes.

	Nottingham City Council	Nottinghamshire County Council
Who builds it	The council, or your own contractor	A contractor of your choice, with the council’s consent
Council charges	A quotation fee, then the quoted total, with neither amount on its page	£52 non-refundable assessment, then £80 consent to build
Your contractor needs	Seven requirements, including NRSWA staff accreditation and at least £5 million public liability insurance	A valid Streetworks qualification and at least £5 million public liability insurance
Timescales and validity	Quotation within 14 days, a start up to three months after payment, a 1 to 2 day build	Authorisation valid for 6 months, then re-apply if construction has not begun

Nottingham City Council’s dropped kerb service

Nottingham City Council offers a quotation and construction service, which runs from an email to Highway Management to a build carried out over 1 to 2 days.

The council’s page gives no quotation fee or price, and says the cost varies but will mainly depend on the area of footpath used to access the driveway.

The kerbs are replaced with lower units, with a splay kerb to each side of a new crossing, and the crossing is excavated and rebuilt to protect all utility services, the council says.

The council does not build private driveways, and Highway Management’s phone number is 0115 876 5238, 10am to 3pm, Monday to Friday.

Nottinghamshire County Council’s dropped kerb process

Nottinghamshire County Council handles a dropped kerb in two phases, and you cannot build the access in phase 2 until phase 1 is complete.

1. Phase 1 is permission. Check on the council’s FindMyStreet map whether your road is classified, then apply online and pay the non-refundable £52 charge for the initial assessment by Via.
2. Phase 2 is construction. A contractor of your choice needs the council’s consent to build the access, for a fee of £80, and if construction has not begun within 6 months of the authorisation, you re-apply.

The county council says a standard access consists of 5 kerbs, 3 dropped kerbs and 2 transition kerbs.

Planning permission is likely, Nottinghamshire County Council says, if the crossing accesses an A, B or C classified road, passes over land that is not highway, or serves a property other than a single family house.

Why a council may refuse a dropped kerb

Checkatrade lists five reasons a council may refuse a dropped kerb.

• Poor visibility of oncoming traffic
• Being close to traffic lights
• Not enough space for the vehicle
• A street lamp, postbox, road sign or bench in the way
• A bend, a junction or a steep slope between the property and the road

Using your own contractor for a dropped kerb

If your own contractor builds the crossing in the city, Nottingham City Council sets seven requirements.

• Full Roads and Street Works Act 1991 (NRSWA) staff accreditation
• Public liability insurance of at least £5 million
• Approval through a Section 184 licence
• Planning consent, where applicable
• The vehicle crossing installation standard details
• Full service and utility drawings for the location
• Work that conforms to all Chapter 8 guidelines for works on highway land

In the county, Nottinghamshire County Council says your contractor needs a valid Streetworks qualification and public liability insurance of at least £5 million, and both councils’ requirements come on top of the usual checks on a driveway contractor.

Among the Nottingham driveway companies we rank, CP Driveways says it installs dropped kerbs across Nottingham to current council specification, and SG Landscaping carries out dropped kerbs as well as laying driveways.

How much a dropped kerb costs

Nottingham City Council prices its own build in a written quotation, and for a contractor’s price, Checkatrade suggests getting at least three quotes.

Across the UK, a dropped kerb costs £900 to drop 2 kerbs and £2,100 to drop 9, on Checkatrade’s figures, and the average driveway conversion needs 3 to 7 kerbs removed.

Kerbs dropped	Average cost
2	£900
3	£1,000
4	£1,200
5	£1,400
6	£1,500
7	£1,600
8	£1,900
9	£2,100

Checkatrade puts the average at £1,800 for a new vehicle access and £1,100 to widen an existing one, for materials and labour only, and says the final cost could be around £2,500 once other factors are added.

On top of the kerbs, Checkatrade’s UK figures average £200 for waste clearance, £200 for a local council inspection and £300 a day for tradesperson labour, with £75 to £1,200 for removing landscaping where the council suggests it.

Moving what is in the way costs extra, on Checkatrade’s averages.

Utility relocation	Average cost
Moving a lamppost	£1,200
Removing a tree	£600
Moving an unlit road sign	£350
Moving a lit road sign	£1,000
A stop valve or meter box	£38
A fire hydrant	£61
A manhole cover	£113
BT or CATV box work	£2,122