Do I need the council's approval letter when I sell?

Yes. Wakefield Council says you will need it when you sell your home, because it shows the crossing was approved and built to its standard. If it has gone missing, the council charges £60 for a replacement.

Can a gravel drive have a dropped kerb in Wakefield?

It can, as long as there is a 2 metre strip of hard standing in a different material, which in practice goes at the pavement end. Without it, every car drags stones out onto the footway.

What if my house is on a main road?

If the road is classified, as A, B and C roads are, you need planning permission before you can even apply for the crossing. Wakefield Council publishes the list of classified roads, so check it before you pay the application fee.

If the estate's permitted development rights were removed, can I still extend?

Yes, in most cases. The condition does not ban an extension, it means you apply for householder planning permission instead of building without one. Applications like that are often approved; the condition simply gives the council the chance to look first.

New dropped kerb being checked with a spirit level outside a red-brick terrace, with a freshly laid block-paved drive behind it

Areas we cover

Builders in Wakefield, from the kerb to the back fence

We are builders working across Wakefield from our base in Barnsley, about ten miles up the A61. Extensions, kitchens, drives, gardens and groundwork, plus the dropped kerbs that Wakefield Council leaves you to find a qualified contractor for. Liam Dyke, who runs the firm, has been at it for 17 years. Phone him on 07709 099108.

Get a quote

Do builders from Barnsley really cover Wakefield?

We do. Several of our reviewed jobs are in the Wakefield council district, among them dropped kerbs in Pontefract and granite cobbles and new edging in a conservation area in Ossett, both of which come under Wakefield Council for anything on the highway.

"handled the paperwork for Wakefield council which they came out the day after and passed the dropped kerbs"

Dropped kerb customer, Pontefract, on MyBuilder

The same firm does the rest of the house as well: extensions and renovations, kitchens and bathrooms, driveways and patios, gardens and groundworks for developers and businesses.

Why does a Wakefield dropped kerb come after the drive?

Wakefield Council does not lay vehicle crossings itself. It checks the site, approves it, and then leaves you to hire a contractor holding valid street works cards, a blue supervisor card and a yellow operative card, or a combined white one. It also expects the driveway behind the kerb to be finished before you apply, which catches out a lot of people who assumed the kerb comes first. So for a Wakefield address it makes sense to plan the drive and the dropped kerb as one job, done in the order the council wants it.

Wakefield Council's order of work

Request the crossing
Online through the council's MyAccount, or by phone on 0345 8 506 506. There is a non-refundable application fee, £171.36 at the time of writing, and you get a reference starting CAS.
A highways officer visits
They look at where the crossing would go and tell you whether it can be approved. If it can, the application pack comes by email.
Your contractor does the work
That is where we come in, with the street works cards the pack asks for.
The council inspects it
A highways officer checks the finished crossing against the council's standard and sends an approval letter if it passes.

What the council looks at on your side of the kerb

A finished drive. Not a cleared patch of garden waiting for paving.
Drainage on a sloping drive. If the drive falls towards the pavement, the water has to be caught before it runs out across the footway.
Planning for a bigger hard surface. The council's page asks for planning permission first on drives over 5 square metres, so check whether yours needs it before anything is laid.
What is in the way. A tree, manhole or lamp column in front of the entrance is expensive to move, the cost is yours, and some applications are turned down because of it.

The drive goes in first

Block paving going down, feature still to fill

A cheap kerb with no cards can cost more

Wakefield Council says work on the highway without a permit or the right accreditation can be fined between £500 and £1,000, the job is shut down, and the footway has to be put back as it was. Before anyone lifts a kerb, ask to see their street works cards. Ours are NRSWA.

Can you extend a house on one of Wakefield's newer estates?

Usually, but read two documents first. The first is the original planning permission for the estate, which is on the council's planning register. Many newer estates were approved with a condition that removes some or all permitted development rights, so an extension, outbuilding or front fence that would normally need no application does need one there.

The second is your title register from HM Land Registry. Covenants are private restrictions written into the deeds, quite separate from planning, and on new estates they often ask for the developer's consent before you extend, put up a fence at the front, or change the open-plan look of the street. Planning permission does not override a covenant, so both need to be clear before the digging starts.

Booking a visit in Wakefield

The visit and the written quote are both free, with no obligation after. Wakefield is one of several towns we cover across West and South Yorkshire, and the others are listed on our areas page. To arrange a time, call 07709 099108, or fill in the quote request underneath.

Wakefield questions

Do I need the council's approval letter when I sell?
Yes. Wakefield Council says you will need it when you sell your home, because it shows the crossing was approved and built to its standard. If it has gone missing, the council charges £60 for a replacement.
Can a gravel drive have a dropped kerb in Wakefield?
It can, as long as there is a 2 metre strip of hard standing in a different material, which in practice goes at the pavement end. Without it, every car drags stones out onto the footway.
What if my house is on a main road?
If the road is classified, as A, B and C roads are, you need planning permission before you can even apply for the crossing. Wakefield Council publishes the list of classified roads, so check it before you pay the application fee.
If the estate's permitted development rights were removed, can I still extend?
Yes, in most cases. The condition does not ban an extension, it means you apply for householder planning permission instead of building without one. Applications like that are often approved; the condition simply gives the council the chance to look first.

Got a job in Wakefield?

It takes about a minute, and you do not need drawings or a budget worked out. We will come and look, and you will get a written price.

Get a quote Call 07709 099108

Free estimate, no obligation.

Finished rear garden with a porcelain patio and a new lawn