A vehicle crossover, also commonly referred to as a dropped kerb, is a section of footpath (technically known as a ‘footway’!) whereby the normal road kerbs that stand 150mm (6”) above the road (technically known as the carriageway!) are lowed to similar level to the road, to allow a vehicle to easily drive over them, to gain vehicular access to a property. As well as lowering the kerbs, a vehicle crossover requires that the whole footway between the new ‘dropped kerbs’ and the boundary with the customer’s property, be constructed to a higher standard than a footway is normally constructed to.

Yes, you will need permission from Highways, see link here for Northants County Council https://www.northnorthants.gov.uk/parking/apply-dropped-kerb In the case of a new build, you may have permission included within your planning permission.

Most of the time, yes, but not always! Your application will be considered based on various aspects of road safety, traffic flow, and impact on pedestrians, and a whole host of other factors.

Highways don’t ordinarily grant permission for a second vehicle crossover to a domestic property, especially if they are both to be within close proximity to each other. But of course on a very large property where the two crossovers will be some distance apart, then permission is more likely to be granted. And on a commercial property, permission for a second crossover is much more likely to be granted.  

For starters, this may sound like an odd one to put into our FAQs, but we thought it worth a mention, as illegally installed crossovers are more common than you may think.

Some people don’t know they need permission, and of course some people just don’t care! One thing to bear in mind though, is that every County Council Highways department (the ones giving out permission for crossovers and inspecting the work etc) employ Highways Inspectors whose job it is not only to inspect legally-installed crossovers, but also to look out for illegally-installed ones. These inspectors are usually very familiar with the areas they cover, and when they spot an illegal crossover they will issue an enforcement notice requiring the crossover be put back to its original state. What’s more, the remedial work has to be done by an approved contractor, and Highways also have the power to instruct a company themselves to reinstate the original footway, and then to charge you for the work. All of this is in addition to a sizeable fine.

Two reasons:

1. The level of a footway is usually somewhere around 150mm (6”) above the carriageway, therefore when we install ‘dropped kerbs’ where the footway meets the carriageway, this puts the original footway above the top of the new kerbs. Of course for a vehicle crossover, the footway has to be at the same level as the kerbs.
2. An existing footway will only have been constructed for and be suitable for pedestrians. Of course, a vehicle may occasionally drive onto a footway, or may park on it, rightly or wrongly. But for continuous vehicular traffic, a footway has to be installed to a higher standard. That includes a thicker layer of sub-base (such as Type 1 MOT) and then a thicker amount of tarmac, to take easily take the weight of vehicles.

All Councils are different, but generally contractors need to be approved by them, or they have to tick various boxes, firstly they hold £10million public liability insurance (as opposed to the usual £2million). And that they hold the correct NRSWA accreditations. These are accreditations that their employees and supervisors hold personally and relate to working in the Highway. It means they are trained in in detecting underground services prior to excavation, they are aware of traffic management including setting up the appropriate signage and setting up the site correctly and safely, and that they are aware of the required specifications for different types reinstatement for crossovers. JW Clark Ltd are approved contractors for Northamptonshire, we have the relevant insurance and our employees and supervisors hold the required accreditations.

The manhole cover can be incorporated into the new crossover as long as it is suitable for traffic, it should normally be a B125-type cover, as a minimum. However, a lot of manhole covers in the pavement are suitable for pedestrian traffic only. We can often obtain a heavier-duty cover but sometimes we will have to go to the relevant utility provider, such as BT or Virgin Media for example. And it’s not only the cover that needs to be suitable for vehicles, the chamber or manhole underneath needs to be suitable for the weight of vehicles as well. If this needs upgrading then the cost for the utility provider to do so, will often be very expensive and sometimes cost-prohibitive. Make sure you include details of any such covers in your enquiry to us, including sending us a picture of it, please.  

It certainly will! Moving a lamppost will normally be cost-prohibitive, but it may not even be possible to move it – the lamppost is there and in that position for a reason, it might not be possible to move it, say, 10 metres down the road. You will need to speak to the owner of the lamppost whoever that is, this will often be Highways and so this will normally be picked up by them at the application stage.

You would not normally get permission from Highways to remove a healthy tree, for the purposes of installing a vehicle crossover.

They generally take 2-3 days from start to finish, however a particularly small one could get done in as little as 1 day. But prior to doing the actual work, getting the Section 184 Licence takes a lot longer. The process of getting the Licence and getting permission to use it, will ordinarily take a month or so, with some taking a lot longer, especially on a traffic sensitive road.

Not initially, no. If you fill out the form here we will have all the information we need. But we will come out to site in the event that a customer wishes to go ahead, and prior to the work being started.