Apply for a vehicle crossing (dropped kerb)

A vehicle crossing, or dropped kerb, is when a kerb is lowered and the footpath strengthened, to allow vehicles to move between roads and properties.

You can apply online for a vehicle crossing. Please see Apply for a vehicle crossing.

If you need assistance, please contact our dedicated Vehicle Crossing Team:

• Tel: 020 8416 8783 
• Email: VehicleCrossings@harrow.gov.uk

Yes.  Please visit our application fees and construction costs page for more information:

A reduced cost is available if the council are carrying out footway works on your road.  Ahead of any footway scheme, residents are notified and advised how to request a vehicle crossing as part of the scheme.

There is an initial and non-refundable application fee of £140.00 to process the application and receive an estimate.

The estimate cost of a vehicle crossing is determined following a site visit from a council member of staff and additional features, such as removal of a parking bay or lamp column, will impact the cost.  

The average cost per square metre, are shown below dependent on the construction material used.

• Tarmac crossing: £140 - £180 per square metre
• Concrete crossing: £140 - £180 per square metre
• Block paved crossing: £160 - £200 per square metre

Additional costs will be charged if the relocation of street furniture is required.

No. The construction materials are determined by the engineer based on the street scene of existing crossings and other engineering factors such as type of vehicles and weight.

The minimum width of lowered kerb is 2.7 metres and the maximum width of lowered kerb is 4.5 metres (3.6m where grass verges are present).

Tapering sloped kerbs are to be added to one or both sides of the crossing, which ranges from 0.6 metre to 0.9 metre for a sloped kerb.

There may well be existing crossings that exceed 4.5 metres of lowered kerb. However this situation does not set any form of precedence and more restrictive policies have been introduced since these crossings were constructed.

There is a requirement to have a minimum of 4.8 metres of clear depth from the boundary of the property to the point that extends the furthest from the house (normally the bay window).

This is to prevent vehicles from overhanging into the highway and thus preventing blocking the path of pedestrians.

If you do not have a minimum of 4.8 metres depth, so long as you can accommodate a 5m x 2m parking bay without overhanging the footway, you may be able to have a vehicle crossing.

There is a potential to extend the amount of lowered kerb to a maximum width of 4.5 metres (which is to include the existing amount of lowered kerb). For example, if you have an existing crossing of 2.5 metres of lowered kerb, there maybe an opportunity to extend the crossing by an additional 2 metres of lowered kerb (4.5 - 2.5 = 2.0).

There will be a presumption in favour to apply for a second crossing on heavily trafficked roads (Classified roads) to benefit road safety in allowing vehicles to enter and leave without reversing. However, a second crossing will not be permitted where grass verges or trees will be affected.

Any application submitted for an extension beyond 4.5 metres will be refused.

If an existing lamp column interferes with a proposed crossing, a separate estimate will be prepared to inform you of the associated costs in relocating the lamp column. This may involve having to erect a secondary lamp column to maintain the correct amount of light and column spacing.

If a tree is situated within the proposed vehicle crossing, your application will be referred to a Tree Officer. They will gauge whether the tree can be removed. If so, two new saplings will be planted in the borough at your expense.

This option is only available if the tree is dead, diseased or dangerous. Generally, a crossing should have a minimum clearance of 4 x the tree trunk circumference to allow safe construction without affecting the health and stability of the tree.

If a tree is near to where you are proposing a vehicle crossing, a trial excavation maybe required, at your expense, and details of these costs can be found of the fees leaflet.

You will need to contact your local water supplier to establish if the valve is low enough for the vehicle crossing to be constructed. If the valve is not low enough, you will be charged by the water supplier to relocate or lower the hydrant. The marker plate may also need to be relocated and updated to reflect the new information of the position of the hydrant. You will be required to send any correspondence letters from your water supplier in order to update our records and construct the crossing.

You are required to contact the utility supplier to establish if the equipment can be relocated. All costs borne by the applicant. You will then need to provide all copies of documentation at the time of application.

Yes. Approval in writing from the Housing department will be required on completion of the estimate by gaining permission to revert the front garden to appropriate hardstanding facilities.

On receipt of this permission you are requested to forward all correspondence in order to update your file.

Planning permission will be required if your property is:

• a flat
• maisonette
• if access is proposed from a principal road
• if the address is a business property

The period to achieve planning permission can be between 8 – 12 weeks.

If planning permission is required due the property being a flat or maisonette or if access is proposed from a principal road, please use the Householder Application, Town & Country Planning Act 1990.

If planning permission is required due the property being a business property, please use the Full Application, Town & Country Planning Act 1990.

There is also a requirement to apply for planning permission if you live in a conservation area which will stipulate the materials to be used on the front garden.

You are required to send a copy of the full planning permission when making the full payment in order to update our records.

There is a requirement to reconstruct your frontage using permeable materials. It must be a minimum of 25% of the front garden's dimensions and can be done as permeable block paving. Such paving must have permeable areas into which surface water can drain but must not discharge on to the highway or connect with the rain water down pipes.

Other materials that are acceptable are Grasscrete and gravelled material. Please ensure that an apron of hard material is constructed across the frontage of the property to prevent stones being introduced onto the highway and thus causing a safety concern. 

 Find out more about paving your front garden.

Yes, you can apply for a vehicle crossing and removal of the parking bay. The only exception to this would be if it is a disabled bay installed for another resident.

When a parking bay requires removal as part of a vehicle crossing application, you must go through the mandatory statutory parking process. Please note that it will:

• incur an additional cost
• it will lengthen the time from application to construction
• it is subject to approval and consideration of any objections received

Consultation cost

The current cost for a parking consultation as part of a vehicle crossing application is £1230.00.

Also please be aware that, if any objections are received following the advertisement to remove the parking bay, these will need to be considered by our Portfolio Holder.  If they decide to uphold the objections, you will not be able to proceed with a vehicle crossing.  If the Portfolio Holder overturns the objections, you can then proceed.  The parking consultation process will not commence until the applicant has paid the parking consultation fee of £1230.00. It is non refundable, regardless of outcome. 

Construction cost

The estimate to construct a vehicle crossing (subject to approval and the consideration of any objections received ) is a separate cost. It will be provided to applicants in advance so that they can make an informed decision as to whether they wish to proceed.

You can find details at Application fees and construction costs.

Please send photographic evidence of your completed hard standing to the Vehicle Crossing Team by email: vehiclecrossings@harrow.gov.uk

The Team will review the photographs and if the driveway is compliant with our policy, they will provide you with details of how to make the outstanding payment.