Dropped Kerbs in Manchester
We lay the driveway that a dropped kerb needs, and we help you through the council's application.
- Quotes in writing
- 20 areas covered
Manchester Resin Drives lays new driveways for homes in Manchester that need a dropped kerb to reach them. A dropped kerb is the lowered, sloping bit of pavement that lets a car get from the road onto your drive. The kerb itself goes through your council. Our part is the drive behind it: a resin bound, block paving or tarmac drive, laid to the size the council asks for.
Why you need one
The Planning Portal says it is illegal to drive over a pavement onto your property without a dropped kerb. It says the job means lowering and strengthening the edge of the pavement, to protect the pavement and the pipes and cables under it.
You apply to your own council, usually on its website. The Planning Portal calls this an application for a domestic vehicle crossing licence. Trafford Council calls a dropped kerb a "vehicular access crossing", and Manchester City Council writes "footway" where most of us would say pavement.
The space you need in Manchester
Manchester City Council will only look at a dropped kerb if you have room to park off the road. Its minimum is a space 4.8 metres deep and 3.5 metres wide if you drive straight in, or 3 metres deep and 6 metres wide if the car sits side-on to the house.
The drive doesn't have to be built before you apply. The council says it has to be there by the payment stage, and if it isn't built yet, you should send in details of what you plan. That is where we come in. We measure your front garden against those sizes, draw up the drive, and lay it while the application goes through.
The council also says all driveways must be laid in a permeable material, which means one that lets rain soak through. Our permeable driveways page covers the options.
What Manchester charges
Manchester City Council says the smallest new dropped kerb is roughly 3 metres long, with prices starting at £1,575. That price covers up to 2 metres of work towards your property.
The council says the price goes up for:
- a wider dropped kerb
- a kerb more than 2 metres from the edge of your property
- clearing anything in the way
- going through a grass verge, which it says is the most expensive kind, because the soil needs edging to hold it in place
Trees, main roads and walls
Manchester City Council says it will not damage a tree to fit a dropped kerb, and if the work comes anywhere under a tree's branches, you need permission first, which could move where the access goes.
Then there is planning permission. Manchester says you need it for a dropped kerb on any road that is not unclassified. An unclassified road is a local road meant for local traffic. The council's other road types are A roads, B roads and the smaller classified roads that link estates to them, and all of those need planning. You might also need planning permission for the new drive, or to take down a front wall or fence.
Manchester keeps an application open for 90 days. If you decide to go ahead after that, you have to apply again, so we plan the drive around your dates.
Dropped kerbs in Salford
In Salford, you get quotes for the kerb from contractors on the council's approved list, and someone from the council keeps an eye on the work. Check that whoever builds your kerb in Salford is on that list.
Salford also says:
- you need a hard parking area on your property already, big enough that the car does not stick out over the pavement or road
- gates must not open outwards over the pavement
- the entrance to your drive must be at least 2.7 metres wide
- you must tell the council at least six weeks before work starts
- planning permission is needed only on A, B or C roads
What to get in writing
Ask for these in writing, whoever lays your drive:
- The size of the parking space, measured against your council's minimum.
- What the drive is made of, and whether it lets water through.
- Who sends the application to the council, and who builds the kerb.
- When the drive will be finished, compared with your council's payment date.
Questions about dropped kerbs in Manchester
Can I just drive over the kerb for now?
No. Salford City Council says that driving over the pavement without an approved dropped kerb breaks the law. It adds that you may have to pay for any damage to the pavement, and you could be taken to court.
Someone offered me a cheap dropped kerb. Should I take it?
Think twice. Salford City Council warns about bogus contractors who offer cut-price dropped kerbs that don't meet any standard. It says the full cost of rebuilding one properly is charged back to you.
Does meeting the sizes mean I will get one?
Not always. Manchester City Council says the sizes are only the minimum, and meeting them does not guarantee you a dropped kerb.
Can you widen an existing drive for a new dropped kerb?
Yes, we can widen or rebuild a drive so it fits the council's sizes, and we lay it in a surface that lets water through.
Which councils do you work with?
We lay drives across Greater Manchester, in places like Salford, Stockport, Trafford and Tameside. Each council runs its own dropped kerb scheme, so we check its rules before we quote.
Get a quote for your drive
Send us the quote form with your postcode and a note that you need a dropped kerb, and we'll come out, measure your front garden against your council's sizes and give you a written quote for the drive. To see the other work we do, go to the Manchester Resin Drives home page.
Ready to talk about your resin driveway job?
Send the quote form with your postcode and what you need. We will get back to you with a written quote.