Dropped kerb application in Milton Keynes: fees, process and who can build it

A dropped kerb application to Milton Keynes City Council is separate from the driveway itself, and it is the part to sort first. Build a new driveway in Milton Keynes without an approved vehicle crossing and you have a drive you cannot legally drive across the pavement to reach. This guide sets out the council's process, the published fees, and who is allowed to do the work.

Why a dropped kerb in Milton Keynes needs permission

The pavement and kerb belong to the highway authority, not to you. Driving over a full-height kerb damages it, and building a crossing yourself without permission is an offence under the Highways Act 1980. In Milton Keynes the highway authority is the city council, and the process is set out on its dropped kerb and vehicle crossing page. The general rules on dropped kerbs are covered in the dropped kerb cost guide.

The dropped kerb application in Milton Keynes, step by step

1. Apply to the council. Submit the vehicle crossing application. The council contacts you for payment before anyone visits.
2. Site visit and assessment. The council looks at the location, the footway and the road before deciding whether a crossing can go there.
3. Appoint a qualified contractor. In MK you arrange your own contractor, and they must hold the right street works qualifications.
4. Contractor licence. Your contractor applies for a Private Opening Licence to work on the highway, which includes council inspections.
5. Build and sign off. The crossing is built under the licence and inspected before completion.

What the council charges

At the time of writing, Milton Keynes City Council publishes these fees. Check the council's page before you apply, because fees change.

The application fee is non-refundable, so it is worth being confident the location is suitable before you pay. The cost of building the crossing itself is separate and depends on its width, the depth of the footway and whether any street furniture or services are in the way.

Things that can get a crossing refused

• Not enough room to park off the road without overhanging the footway
• Poor visibility onto the road
• Trees, lamp columns or utility covers in the way
• Positions close to junctions or on busier roads

Grid-road estates and homes on shared parking courts raise their own questions about where a crossing can go, which is another reason to apply before booking the drive.

How long it takes

Allow time for the council to take payment, visit and assess the location before any contractor can apply for the licence to work on the footway. The council's page does not promise a fixed turnaround, so build some slack into your plans rather than booking the driveway for the week after you apply. The driveway installation page explains how the kerb fits around the days on site.

Choosing a contractor for the crossing

Because Milton Keynes asks you to appoint your own contractor, check before you commit that they hold the street works qualifications the council requires and that they will apply for the Private Opening Licence themselves. Ask for their insurance details, how they will keep the footway safe while it is open, and whether their price includes reinstating the pavement to the council's standard. A contractor who is vague about the licence is one to avoid, because unlicensed work on the highway can be ordered out at your expense.

If you are also having the drive rebuilt, it usually makes sense for the same firm to plan both, so the crossing and the new block paving in Milton Keynes meet at the right level without a lip or a puddle at the boundary.

The order to do things in

Apply for the crossing first, get approval, then plan the drive around it. If the new drive covers more than five square metres of front garden, plan its drainage at the same time, because the planning rules on front gardens apply separately to the kerb. The Milton Keynes driveway cost guide shows how the kerb fits into the overall budget.