Drop kerbs · Practical advice
Preparing your dropped-kerb information and drawings
Put together a clear project pack for the application, quotation and construction stages.
Give the project one clear reference
Use the property address and postcode on the information you send. Keep the drawing, photographs, application correspondence and quotation together in one folder. It sounds simple, but a project can develop several versions as the entrance position changes. A clear file name and date help prevent an old sketch being mistaken for the agreed layout.
Draw the existing frontage first
Show the house, property boundary, pavement and road before adding the proposed work. Mark existing access, walls, gates, trees, covers and other visible features. Include measurements where you have taken them and distinguish them from estimates. An honest drawing with an uncertain dimension labelled is more useful than an apparently precise plan based on guesswork.
Explain what will change
Use a different line or colour to show the proposed entrance and parking arrangement. Identify what is being removed, retained or rebuilt. If driveway work is separate from the crossover, show the relationship between the two. Include an explanation of the intended surface-water arrangement so it is discussed alongside the access rather than left until surfacing begins.
Follow the application requirements
Use the current authority form and guidance to establish the actual documents required. A contractor's quotation pack is not automatically a complete application. Check whether other permissions or consents are needed for your property. Keep copies of the submitted information and any conditions attached to a decision, and pass the relevant material to the contractor.
Record revisions properly
If the proposal changes, update the drawing and ask whether the authority needs to approve the revision. Avoid relying on a conversation alone for a change in position or scope. Send the same revised pack to anyone pricing the job. Otherwise apparently different prices may simply reflect different versions of the work.
Make handover part of the folder
Keep the accepted quotation, agreed changes, product or aftercare information and relevant licence records together after completion. These records help if you later alter the driveway or need to explain what was installed. For example, a future paving quotation is easier to discuss when the contractor can see which entrance arrangement was approved and where the private work ended.
Do I need to produce a professional drawing immediately?
Check what the authority requests and what the project requires. Start by collecting accurate information; ask for drawing or design help where needed rather than assuming a rough sketch is sufficient for every purpose.
Your project checklist
- Label measurements and dates.
- Separate existing and proposed work.
- Check the current application requirements.
- Keep superseded drawings out of the active project pack.
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