Dropped Kerb Westminster: £142 to Apply, Often Refused

Getting a dropped kerb in Westminster starts with a £142 application fee and a warning. Westminster City Council says in its own guidance that it “will normally resist” turning front gardens and forecourts into parking, and will resist new vehicle access to them, especially where it would cost an on-street parking space. Applications are not impossible, but most homes in the borough will not get one, and the fee is not refundable.

This page sets out what the council asks for, when you also need planning permission, what the process costs beyond the fee, and how long it takes. It is based on Westminster’s vehicular crossovers page, last updated 14 March 2025, and its crossover guidance notes and application form, which we read on 14 November 2026.

What a dropped kerb actually is

The council calls it a vehicular crossover: a lowered, strengthened section of pavement that lets a vehicle cross from the road to a parking space on private land. You need the council’s consent under section 184 of the Highways Act 1980, and in Westminster the work is carried out by the council’s approved contractors, with you paying the bill. The same section gives councils powers to deal with people who drive across a pavement that has no crossover.

The council’s starting point: usually no

The guidance notes are blunt. The council will “normally resist” parking spaces on front gardens and on shop or other frontages, and will also resist vehicle access to them, “particularly when such development would result in the loss of on street parking space”. In a borough where nearly every kerb is a resident’s bay, a pay-to-park bay or a single or double yellow line, that last point rules out a lot of streets.

It also has a duty under the Highways Act to keep traffic moving safely, and says that where safety is an issue, a crossover will simply not be permitted.

The minimum size and layout rules

Even if the principle is accepted, the parking space and access must meet four conditions:

A council consultant visits to take measurements. Your application must show six dimensions (marked a to f on the council’s typical layout drawing) covering the frontage, the garden and the proposed hardstanding, plus any marked bays, lamp posts, trees, manhole covers, hydrants and utility covers that the crossover would affect.

When you need planning permission too

Highway consent and planning permission are separate. The guidance says you need planning permission if the crossover involves:

• an access onto a classified road;
• demolishing or altering a front wall that is at least one metre high;
• a property that is not a single family house, such as flats or any other use;
• alterations to the building needed to build or use the crossover;
• a change of use of the forecourt or front garden.

The council adds that highway consent “does not under any circumstances” exempt you from planning, conservation area or listed building consent. Much of Westminster is in a conservation area, and many front boundary walls and railings are part of what those designations protect. Our page on Article 4 directions and planning permission in Westminster explains the extra controls.

Paving the front garden. Separately from the crossover, national rules say that if you cover more than five square metres of a front garden with a hard surface that lets water run off onto the road, you need planning permission. A permeable surface, or one that drains to a lawn or border, avoids that. The government’s guidance on permeable front garden surfaces explains the options. Flats do not have these permitted development rights at all.

What it costs beyond the £142

The £142, including VAT, only pays for the council to assess the application. It is paid online, and the council says the fee covers assessment only. If the application is approved, you then pay:

1. The construction cost. The council sends an estimate based on its contractors’ schedule of rates, with an allowance for contingencies and a 15% administration fee. Once the work is done it is measured, and any difference is refunded or charged.
2. Utility alterations. The council writes to every utility with pipes or cables under the pavement. If any need moving, you pay the full cost.
3. Removing a parking bay, if there is one across your frontage (see below).
4. Traffic management during the works.

If you later no longer need the crossover, the owner or occupier pays to remove it and restore the pavement.

If there is a parking bay outside

Where a marked bay runs across your frontage, it has to be removed by a traffic management order before a crossover can be built. The council says this can take up to six months, provided there are no objections during the public consultation. Even with planning permission and highway consent, the council may uphold objections from neighbours and keep the bay, in which case there will be no crossover. Losing a resident’s bay in a busy zone is exactly what neighbours tend to object to; see our page on Westminster parking zones and hours for how scarce they are.

How long it takes

The council’s page warns that decisions on estimates and traffic orders “take considerably longer” than the first reply.

Building works need a temporary crossover

If heavy vehicles need to cross the pavement during building works, you need a separate temporary crossover, and the permanent one can only be built once that access is no longer needed. The guidance notes say forms for a temporary crossover are available by phoning the council on 020 7641 2000. For skips and bay suspensions during the same works, see our guides to the Westminster skip licence and parking bay suspensions.

How to apply

1. Check first whether you need planning permission, using the list above. The council asks you to contact its planning service before applying for highway consent.
2. Download the vehicle crossover application form and guidance notes from the council’s crossover page.
3. Pay the £142 fee online and keep the receipt.
4. Email the form, your layout drawing and the payment receipt to highwaysplanning@westminster.gov.uk, or post them to Highways Planning at City Hall, 64 Victoria Street, London SW1E 6QP.

One small trap: the guidance notes and form still mention paying by cheque, but the council’s web page now says payment “can only be made online”. Follow the web page.

If you mainly want off-street parking to charge an electric car, read our guide to EV charging in Westminster first: on-street charge points may be the realistic option.

Frequently asked questions

How much is a dropped kerb in Westminster? The application fee is £142 including VAT, paid online and not refundable. If approved, you also pay the construction estimate plus a 15% administration fee, any utility alterations and, where relevant, the cost of removing a parking bay.

Will Westminster approve my dropped kerb? Often not. The council says it will normally resist parking on front gardens and new vehicle access to them, particularly if it means losing an on-street parking space.

How big does my front garden need to be? The parking area must be at least 4.8 metres long and 2.4 metres wide, gates must not open onto the pavement or road, and getting in and out must not endanger pedestrians.

Do I need planning permission for a dropped kerb in Westminster? You do if the access is onto a classified road, you remove or alter a front wall at least one metre high, the property is flats or not a single house, the building needs altering, or the front garden’s use changes. Listed building and conservation area consents are separate again.

How long does a dropped kerb take in Westminster? The council aims to reply within three weeks. If a parking bay has to be removed, the traffic order can take up to six months. Construction is programmed within six weeks of payment, or about 28 days after a bay is re-designated.

Can I drive over the pavement without a dropped kerb? You should not. Regular vehicle access across a pavement needs a crossover approved under section 184 of the Highways Act 1980, and the council can act if people drive over a footway without one.