A new driveway is worth very little if you cannot legally drive onto it. Crossing a footway needs consent from the highway authority, which in our patch means Essex County Council or Suffolk County Council, and it is a separate process from anything planning related.
We build a lot of frontages where the crossing is the critical path item, so it is the first thing we ask about at a site visit.
What the highway authority looks at
- Visibility in both directions from the proposed access
- Whether the road is classified, and traffic speeds on it
- Space to park clear of the footway, usually around five metres depth
- Street furniture, trees, lighting columns and drainage gullies in the way
- Utility apparatus beneath the footway, which may need diverting
- Whether the frontage is already hard surfaced and draining correctly
Typical costs
A straightforward domestic vehicle crossing in Essex generally runs £1,200 to £2,500 including the application fee and the footway construction, carried out by an approved contractor.
Costs climb where a gully or lighting column has to move, where the footway is wide, or where a verge crossing needs full construction. Utility diversions are the genuinely expensive variable and are quoted by the utility itself.
Why applications are refused
- Insufficient visibility, particularly near a bend or junction
- Frontage too shallow to park without overhanging the footway
- Access onto a classified road where the authority resists new crossings
- A protected street tree in the crossing line
- No provision for surface water, so run off would reach the highway
How we sequence it
We look at the crossing at the first visit, flag anything likely to cause difficulty, and set the driveway design out so the frontage works with the approved crossing rather than around it. Where visibility or depth is marginal, it is far better to know before the design is agreed.
Services this relates to
Want the figure for your own property? Call 07770 880587 or email enquiries@breakinggroundltd.com and we will arrange a site visit.