Vehicle access (dropped kerb)

Page updated on: 07/09/2023

Apply for a licence to have the kerb outside your property lowered and footway / verge reconstructed, also known as a vehicle access request.

Please note, applicants will be responsible for paying the full cost of the licence and the construction costs. The licence takes 28 days to process and issue.

Private contractors carrying out work will be required to hold a valid street works accreditation card and have at least £5 million public liability indemnity.

You will need to find out if the road on which you want to drop the kerb is an ‘A, B or C classified road’, you can do this by utilising the Find My Street webpage. 

A standard access is 4 dropped kerbs and 2 transition kerbs. Requests for a wider access will be considered, though may not always be granted.

Fees

There is a non-refundable application fee of £171 for an Officer to process the application to assess whether an access will be allowed. 

If your application is approved and issued it is up to you to appoint and pay a suitably qualified contractor to carry out the work to Carmarthenshire County Council specification. It is also your duty to notify the Council when the works will take place to enable Inspection by a Council Street Works Inspector.

Download application for a dropped kerb (.pdf)

What are the restrictions when creating new impermeable surfaces to the front of a dwelling?

There are no restrictions on laying patios, paths and other areas of hardstanding on land to the rear or side of your house. But there are restrictions on the type of material you can use to cover the land in front of the principal elevation of your house, if it leads onto a highway. 

The restrictions are that (i) either the surface must be porous or permeable or (ii) designed to direct run-off water to a permeable or porous area within the boundary of your home. These restrictions have been put in place due to concerns that certain types of hard surface can contribute towards surface water flooding. For example, surfaces such as concrete are impermeable – i.e. they do not allow water to soak through them and instead, water simply runs off onto roads and pavements.

If you wish to replace an existing, impermeable hard surface that is located in front of the principal elevation of your house and leads onto a highway, you have an allowance to replace a small area - up to 5sqm in any 6 month period - of existing hardsurfacing without needing to comply with the restrictions outlined above.

Further technical guidance is available in, “Guidance on the permeable surfacing of front gardens” (Page 15).

I wish to apply for a dropped kerb and I live on an unclassified road do I need planning?

To find out if the road on which you would like to drop is an ‘A, B or C classified’ road, search your street here on Find My Street.

If you live on an unclassified road (not an A, B or C road) you do not normally require need planning permission to create a new access or alter an existing access unless the proposal will adversely affect highway safety or involve engineering works such as the excavation or raising of existing ground levels.

I wish to apply for a dropped kerb and I live on a classified road (A, B or C roads) do I need planning?

To find out if the road on which you would like to drop is an ‘A, B or C classified’ road, search your street here on Find My Street.

If your property is on a classified road you will need to apply for planning permission to create a new access or alter an existing access and you will need to obtain planning permission prior to proceeding with your dropped kerb application.

You are advised to submit a Householder Development – Preliminary Enquiry Form to us by email to planning@carmarthenshire.gov.uk to seek confirmation of whether your proposal will require planning permission. 

Where planning permission is required, you will need to submit planning application forms.

Once you have completed your enquiry or approval process with planning, you can submit a dropped kerb application.
You will need to provide a copy of your approved planning decision notice with your application.

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