Drop kerbs · Practical advice
Dropped-kerb licence or planning permission: what is the difference?
Understand the separate decisions that may apply to the highway, driveway and property.
Separate the questions
The permission to alter the public highway is a different question from planning permission for development at your property. Other consents may also matter. Start by identifying which part of the project each decision concerns: the crossing, the private parking area, boundary alterations or land belonging to someone else. Treating everything as one informal approval can leave important gaps.
Check the route for your address
East Sussex Highways provides the vehicle-crossing application route for the roads it manages. Use the current guidance and check responsibility for your particular frontage if uncertain. The local planning authority deals with the planning question. Ask about property-specific restrictions rather than assuming the same answer applies to every home in the town.
Understand what the decision covers
Read an approval together with its conditions and the drawing it relates to. Check the proposed width, position and any requirements that affect the contractor's work. Do not treat an approval for one layout as permission to build a different arrangement. Save the decision in the project folder and make sure the appointed contractor has the relevant information.
Allow for the construction stage
The current East Sussex process distinguishes the homeowner's application from the contractor's construction-stage arrangements. A favourable initial decision is not a signal to begin opening the pavement immediately. Discuss who will handle the next stage and when construction can be confirmed. Avoid promising a fixed start date before those arrangements are resolved.
Match the private work to the approved access
A driveway design can change while materials are being selected. Check that new pillars, gates, planting and parking positions still work with the approved entrance. If a change affects the proposal, ask the appropriate authority what is needed. It is easier to resolve the paperwork while the drawing is being revised than after the new boundary is built.
Keep responsibilities in the quotation
Ask the quotation to state which application-related tasks are included, who pays relevant charges and what information you must supply. Distinguish a contractor's assistance from a guarantee of approval. If two companies are working on the driveway and crossover, agree who will coordinate the interface. A written responsibility list prevents both parties assuming the other has dealt with an outstanding step.
Does having an existing driveway prove that the crossover is authorised?
No. If the status is uncertain, check the available records and ask the highway authority about the existing access before relying on it for a new proposal.
Your project checklist
- Identify the highway and planning questions separately.
- Read the conditions and approved drawing.
- Confirm construction-stage responsibilities.
- Check changes before building them.
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