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If you wish to build or widen a dropped crossing over a pavement in order to park your vehicle on your property, you may need planning permission from your  Local District/City Council. Please check with them first before submitting an application to Devon Highways.

You must get agreement from Devon Highways before you do anything on the highway. Digging in the footpath or road, without lawful authority is an offence under the Highways Act and may result in prosecution.

What you need to do:

Stage 1 - Check if you need Planning Permission

Complete the planning application checklist – this will give you guidance on whether you need planning permission.

Planning Permission Checklist (7KB - pdf help)

a) If you need planning permission – you need to contact your local planning authority and obtain your planning permission first. Once you have planning permission you rejoin the vehicle crossing application at stage 5 below.

b) If you do not need planning permission – proceed to stage 2.

Stage 2 - Complete the Pre-Application Checklist

Pre-Application Checklist (8KB - pdf help)

This will give you guidance on whether to proceed and what else you may need to do before submitting an application. The application fee is £105 and non-refundable, so it is highly recommended to do the pre-application checks very carefully and seek advice if you need to.

It is preferable for you to go through the pre-application checks by telephone with one of our advisors. If you would like to do this, telephone 0845 155 1004 and it can be arranged.

Stage 3 - Request an Application Form (Property Holder)

Once the pre-application checks have been completed, then if you wish to go ahead telephone 0845 155 1004 and request an application form.

To assist you in successfully completing the application process, one of our advisors may contact you by telephone to undertake the pre-application process prior to issuing the forms in the post or by email.

Stage 4 - Submit Application Form (Property Holder)

Send the completed forms to:

highwayapps@devon.gov.uk or by post to:

Devon County Council
Highways & Traffic Management
PO BOX 494
NEWTON ABBOT
TQ12 9GL

Make sure you enclose:

• the pre-application checklist
• the non-refundable payment of £105
• copies of any permission documents required
• a photograph of the site, marked to show location of the proposed crossing OR a drawing (if you have approved plans, send a copy) – telephone 0845 155 1004 for advice if unsure.

Allow 28 days for the application to be processed. We will notify you of the outcome in writing. If the application is successful, we will provide an Approval Document which includes our conditions and specification for construction.

Stage 5 - If your application has been approved - Engage a Competent Contractor to build the vehicle crossing for you

You will need to give a copy of the Approval Document, conditions and specification to the contractor. The contractor will submit an application to us requesting permission to carry out the work on your behalf.

The application process will take up to 28 days and currently costs the contractor £130. It is likely they will recharge this fee to you, so be aware to check if it is included in any quotation you receive.

Work must be done by a contractor that is suitably qualified to work on the highway and adequately insured. Therefore when selecting a contractor, you need to check with them that they:

• are covered for Public Liability insurance in the sum of £5 million pounds
• have staff trained to work on the highway

We will ask the contractor to provide evidence of the above when they apply to do the work and if they do not supply the necessary paperwork, they will not be permitted to work on the highway.

You must check whether there are any utility apparatus (pipes, covers, chambers) within the work area. You may choose to ask your contractor to do this for you. If utility apparatus is present, you, or your contractor, will need to liaise with the utility companies concerned for any alterations needed to their apparatus. You will have to pay for these changes to the utility apparatus. The utility company can insist that their own contractor does the works to their apparatus. Therefore you will need to allow sufficient time for the utility company to organise the work.

Work must be completed within 6 months from the date of approval, so carefully consider the timing of your application.

You are advised that in no circumstances should you engage a contractor to go ahead and undertake work within the highway without first obtaining all necessary permissions from Devon County Council.

Stage 6 - Ongoing responsibility

You are held liable by the County Council for the work undertaken by your contractor both during the work and for a maintenance period of 2 years following completion of the work.

If the County Council inspects the area within this time and finds the standard to be inadequate, the County Council will make good and recharge you for the costs incurred. It is therefore very important for you to select a reputable contractor.

Table of indicative charges for Construction of Vehicular Crossings In addition to application costs detailed above, this table provides further information on likely costs of undertaking the work.

Item	Indicative Cost
Standard 3 meter wide vehicle crossing	£1000 - £1500*

Below are possible additional site specific costs which you may need to consider:

Re-locating Street lighting column (up to 10 metres)	£1200*
Relocating internally illuminated sign (up to 10 metres)	£1200*
Removal and replacement of tree (any tree needing removal will be replaced by 2 new ones at suitable locations).	£600*
Modification of Telecommunication cover (any chamber in a footway will require a heavy duty cover & frame fitted by the Company it belongs to)	£1200*
Re-locating unlit road sign	£350*
Amendment to a Traffic Regulation Order (i.e. parking restrictions)	£1500*

*Note: these are indicative costs for guidance only to enable applicants to assess approximate costs of applying for and constructing a vehicle crossing. Therefore applicants should be aware actual costs may be significantly different from above dependent on the individual circumstances and therefore should obtain firm quotations where necessary from utility companies, local authority and contractors.

Other useful links:

DCC Policy for construction of Vehicle Crossings (45KB - pdf help)

Specification (20KB - pdf help)

Conditions (21KB - pdf help)