Dropped kerbs

A dropped kerb, also known as a crossover, is an alteration to the footway. It involves lowering the kerb and laying new foundations to the paving to enable a car to be driven onto the front area of a property.

It is an offence to cross the public footway without a legally constructed footway crossing.

Changing your garden to a parking area
There are certain standards that need to be met before you change your garden/front of house into a parking area and obtain a crossover. Council tenants will need to obtain permission from their housing office.

To obtain a crossover the front garden must be:

4.2m in depth or
3.8m if the frontage of your property is over 6.5m wide or
4.8m in depth if planning consent is required

The preferred width of a crossover is 2.4m but in some cases wider crossovers are permitted.

Obtaining planning consent
Planning consent is generally required:

for crossovers on main roads
if the property is within a conservation area
where property is divided into flats for multiple occupancy
when a boundary wall over 1m high (in a conservation area) is demolished

Applying for a crossover
Please contact Mouchel Parkman Ltd 22-24 Uxbridge Rd, Ealing W5 2BP, tel: (020) 8326 3031.

Cost
The cost of constructing an average crossover is £800. This cost depends on the size of the crossover and if there are any pavement obstructions ie a tree, lighting column that may have to be removed.

Processing your application
As part of your application a site visit will be conducted to make environmental observations and take site measurements. This information will be used to assess your application.

Ealing Council reserves the right to refuse a crossing application if necessary.

An estimate will be sent to you that will specify the charges for the work and any alterations that need to be made.

On receipt of full payment the works will be booked with the council's contractor. The work takes approximately six weeks once full payment of the cheque has cleared. If any alterations need to be made to public utilities completion may take longer.

Dropped kerb enforcement
The council can issue a PCN to any vehicle parked across a dropped kerb without the permission of the owner of the property.