Dropped kerbs

We are responsible for permitting construction of dropped kerbs (otherwise known as vehicle access crossings or crossovers) for domestic and industrial use. The permission is valid for twelve months and will only apply to land that is part of the public highway. You are strongly advised to check there is no intervening land between your property and the highway boundary. It is for the applicant to obtain any other permissions that are required.

How to apply

Download and complete the application form below, and send it to the Licensing Team with a sketch plan of the access and the fee of £80. We will then check whether the proposal can go ahead and send you further information if so. We aim to process your application within one calendar month and will then contact you to confirm our decision.

If you share a driveway with an adjoining property, and wish to build an access to serve the two sites, one occupier should act on behalf of both parties but you will still need to pay the fee for each new access.

• Vehicle access application form (pdf format, 137Kb)

Planning permission

You will need to contact your Local Planning Office (i.e. your district council) to check whether specific planning permission is also required. It will usually be required where the new access is on to a classified road or forms part of a larger development proposal and in some other circumstances. We will not permit a new access until planning permission is granted where this is required by the Local Planning Authority.

Highway improvement schemes

We may contact you directly if a carriageway or footway improvement scheme is to take place in your street. If this occurs you must complete the vehicle access application form (including the fee). We will then undertake to do the preparations and physical works, as per the letter informing you of the scheme.

Standards of construction

The specification for a business or industrial access will be determined by the Area Office following receipt of the completed application. Work to construct the new access shall not begin until all permissions have been granted, you have accepted the conditions attached to these and the Area office has been notified of a start date and the constructor's details.

It is your responsibility to locate, record and protect all buried services. You are strongly recommended to contact each of the Statutory Undertakers in your area for advice on this aspect.

Where an existing roadside ditch is affected by a new vehicle access the ditch will be piped in accordance with the requirements of the Environment Agency or local Land Drainage Authority (usually this is your District Council).

Conditions to be met

1. A crossing will generally not be approved within 15 metres of a junction.
2. A crossing will not usually be approved, or an existing crossing widened, so that it covers the full width of your property.
3. Generally, only one crossing will be approved into a property. Separate “in and out” crossings are normally not permitted. In urban areas this may reduce parking available to other residents. In quiet cul-de-sacs or in roads with little used footways, where highway safety will not be compromised, a second crossing may be permitted. If you have vehicle access to the front and rear of your property crossings at each frontage may also be allowed, provided it is not possible to drive from one to the other through the property. Please contact us for advice in these circumstances.
4. You must check your deeds to confirm there is no restriction on parking a vehicle in the curtilage of the property.
5. You, or your approved contractor, will be required to consult all statutory undertakers (unless the works are included within an Oxfordshire County Council scheme) to find out if their apparatus is affected by your proposals. The contractor will require this information before they can open the highway (exception: when Oxfordshire County Council undertakes to do this as part of a carriageway or footway improvement scheme - see above).
6. All highway trees within five metres of the proposed access must be displayed on the sketch plan of the proposed access. Crossings too close to existing highway trees will not be approved.

Where a request is made for two crossings to serve one property and the space available means that the area between them is at or close to the minimum limits (ie two metres in width), a decision will have to be made as to the shape of the crossing. Where there is an existing crossing it may mean that this will also have to be modified.

Indemnity

You (or your constructor) must put in place insurance to indemnify Oxfordshire County Council against any third party claims arising from the works. The insurance cover should be a minimum of £10m in respect of every occurrence giving rise to a claim.

Parking within your property

Your application will not be approved unless you are able to provide a suitable parking area within your property.

• This must be at least 5m deep, measured from the front of your house to the boundary of the property, and at least 2.5m wide for a standard car.
• There must also be at least 1.2m width for unfettered access to and from the front door and for emergency access. If the width of your property is more than 8m these conditions may not apply.
• No part of the vehicle parked within your property may project over the highway.
• No part of the footway from the dropped kerb to the property boundary may be used for the purpose of vehicle parking.

Where existing dropped kerbs within the applicant's street or locality do not meet this guidance, they will not be considered as a precedent for future applications.  Each application will be considered on its own merits.

Your rights

Please note that the construction of a vehicle crossing outside your house does not give you any particular rights, except to drive across the footway to gain access to your property. The crossing itself becomes part of the public highway once it is satisfactorily constructed. 

Other considerations

Gravel on your driveway

Where you are intending to use gravel or a similar loose material on your driveway, concrete or blacktop should be laid in a 50cm strip from the boundary to the start of the gravelled area to help reduce the problem of gravel being carried onto the pavement. If the material is carried onto the highway it will be your responsibility to remove it by sweeping etc.

Drainage

The parking area within your property must be designed and constructed so that water does not drain from it across a footway. Suitable drainage must be provided within the boundaries of your property.

Gates across vehicle entrance

Gates fitted across the vehicle entrance to your property must only open inwards and may in no circumstances open outwards across the footpath or carriageway.

Safety

Any application for the construction of a vehicle crossing may be refused or modified on the grounds of safety. The applicant must ensure that adequate sight lines are maintained to allow safe access to their property.

Obstacles to construction

Any application for the construction of a vehicle crossing may be refused or modified on the grounds of safety. The applicant must ensure that adequate sight lines are maintained to allow safe access to their property.

If the proposed position of the access is obstructed by a road sign, lamp post, fire hydrant, telegraph pole or tree etc, the location should be altered to avoid the obstacle. If this is not feasible, a decision will have to be made as to whether the item should be removed or relocated.  You will be responsible for meeting the cost of carrying out this removal or relocation.

It is possible that the application can be refused if the crossing compromises existing highway trees that are to be retained.

Further information

Please contact the Licensing and Streetworks Administration Team or your local district council.

A list of contractors that carry out vehicular access works will be sent with the approval letter.