Getting a dropped kerb in Buckinghamshire
The driveway is yours. The kerb is not. Anywhere in Buckinghamshire, lowering the kerb outside your house to drive over it needs a vehicular access licence from Buckinghamshire Council, and the council wants the planning position resolved before it will look at the application. This is the order it goes in and what it costs.
Licence fee
£520.38
Buckinghamshire Council vehicular access licence. Check the council page for the current figure before you budget.
Who applies
You do
The owner or an agent. We cannot hold the licence for you.
First
Planning
Permission granted, or a letter from planning saying it is not required.
The order of operations
Step 1
Settle the planning question
Either permission for the access, or written confirmation from Buckinghamshire Council's planning team that it is not needed. On a classified road, expect the former.
Step 2
Apply for the vehicular access licence
Online, through Buckinghamshire Council, with the planning evidence attached and the fee paid.
Step 3
Let the council assess the site
They look at visibility, the road classification, the footway build-up, verges, drainage gullies, lamp columns, trees and any statutory services in the way.
Step 4
Build the driveway to the approved access
We set the entrance, levels and drainage to whatever has been approved — not the other way round. Water from your drive must not run out over the footway.
Where the entrance meets the drive
The crossing is where most driveways start to fail, because it is the only part a vehicle hits at an angle with a wheel loaded on one side. It wants a haunched edge restraint, full-depth construction carried right out to the boundary, and a linear channel set back from the highway so nothing runs off your property onto the footway. You can see the edge and channel detail on every one of our documented builds.
Questions people actually ask
How much does a dropped kerb cost in Buckinghamshire?
Buckinghamshire Council's vehicular access licence costs £520.38. That is the licence fee for permission to lower the kerb outside your property — it is not the cost of building the crossing, which is a separate construction cost depending on width, kerb type, whether a verge is crossed and whether any services sit in the footway.
Who applies for the dropped kerb — me or the contractor?
The application is made by the property owner or an agent acting for them, direct to Buckinghamshire Council's highways licensing team. We are not able to hold the licence on your behalf. We will tell you what to apply for and work to whatever the council approves.
Do I need planning permission as well as the licence?
The council's own requirement is that before applying to lower or extend a dropped kerb you either have planning permission granted, or a letter from the planning team confirming permission is not needed. Sort that first; the licence application asks for it.
How long does a dropped kerb take to come through?
The council publishes the process rather than a guaranteed turnaround, and it varies with the site — a straightforward footway crossing on an unclassified estate road is a different assessment from an access onto a busy classified road with a verge and visibility to check. Apply early. It is the part of a driveway project most likely to hold up a start date.
Can I just build the driveway and drop the kerb myself?
No. The footway and kerb are highway. Altering them without a licence is unlawful, and the council can require the work to be reinstated at your expense. Driving over a full-height kerb without a crossing also damages the kerb and, over time, the footway construction beneath it.
Does the crossing have to be a particular width?
The council assesses each access, including width, visibility, the effect on drainage and street furniture, and the road it comes off. Rather than guess, we set the driveway entrance out to whatever the licence approves — which is why we like the licence settled before we price the entrance detail.
Where do I actually apply, and what should I expect?
Applications go through Buckinghamshire Council's dropped kerb licence page (opens in a new tab) — that page carries the current fee, the application form and the supporting documents they ask for. Expect to evidence the planning position, pay the licence fee, and then wait on the council's site assessment. The highway authority, not the contractor, decides what gets approved.
Related
Fees and requirements are Buckinghamshire Council's and can change. Always check the council's dropped kerb licence page (opens in a new tab) for the current position before you commit money.