Issue - meetings

Report ES18028

Approval was sought to a policy change for new or extended vehicle crossovers involving works to an existing grass verge.

As a Highway Authority using powers under Section 184 (11) of the Highways Act 1980, the Council has responsibility to grant and construct vehicle crossovers for off-street parking following a request from a property owner. Applications are considered in accordance with the Council’s policy and guidelines for crossovers to ensure they are dealt with consistently and fairly. 

The current policy for crossovers over an existing grass verge or amenity land permits a new crossing or extension of an existing crossing to a maximum width at the property boundary of 4.8m, with a similar width at the kerb line and a limit on the depth of a lowered crossover kerb of 3.0m with 0.9m ramp kerbs either side. A crossover over a grass verge would therefore involve amenity land loss of up to 14.4 square metres.   

As appeals had been upheld against a number of refused crossovers marginally exceeding the three-metre depth limit (on grounds that other properties in a road had existing crossovers), it was proposed to vary the policy to allow more flexibility in assessing applications without increasing the impact of such provision on the amenity land involved. Current guidance recommended a minimum crossover width of 3.6m consisting of 2.4m lowered kerbs with 0.6 m ramp kerbs on either side and the revised policy proposed to limit the overall area of a crossover across a grass verge to 14.4 square metres, which would, for example, allow a crossover 3.6m wide to be provided over a grass verge 4.0m deep.

Members supported the recommendations.

RESOLVED that the Environment Portfolio Holder be recommended to approve the changes to policies for provision of new or extended vehicle crossovers.