Dropped kerb cost by council: fees and works
A dropped kerb costs a council fee of £55.06 to £500 to apply, usually not refunded, plus building the crossing: between £1,000 and £3,500 where councils publish a guide, and more if a street light, utility equipment or a parking bay has to move. Waltham Forest charges by area, £600 a square metre.
Fees read from each council’s own pages on 11 October 2026; councils usually reset them each 1 April.
- To apply: £55.06 to £500 at the councils checked; Kent refunds £231 of £500 and Lancashire half of £290 if they refuse.
- Building it: Kent quotes £1,000 to £2,500 from contractors, Lancashire £2,000 to £3,500, Surrey about £1,800, Leeds about £1,500, Manchester from £1,575.
- Extras: moving a street light costs £500 to £3,000 in Lancashire and upwards of £1,500 in Surrey; a parking order change in Waltham Forest at least £3,500.
- Planning, if needed: £548 for a householder application from 1 April 2026.
The fees, council by council
| Council | To apply | Refund if refused | Other charges | Building it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kent | £500 | £231 back | Extra inspection by a tree officer or a street lighting engineer, each: £76 | £1,000 to £2,500 |
| Essex | not shown | - | - | quoted on site |
| Hampshire | £211.90 | no | Fast Track decision in two weeks: £97 | quoted on site |
| Surrey | £383 | no | Re-marking the agreed crossover: £116 | about £1,800 |
| Hertfordshire | £139 | within 14 days only | - | quoted on site |
| Lancashire | £290 | £145 back | - | £2,000 to £3,500 |
| Birmingham | £125 | no | Administration fee, if you go ahead: £375 | quoted on site |
| Leeds | £55.06 | no | Section 171 licence: £345.90 | about £1,500 |
| Manchester | none published | - | - | from £1,575 |
| Sheffield | £220 | no | - | quoted on site |
| Bristol | £357 | no | - | quoted on site |
| Havering | £261 | no | - | quoted on site |
| Waltham Forest | £475 | no | Conditional legal agreement: £400 | £600 a m² |
What pushes the price up
The application fee pays for the assessment, not the crossing. Birmingham prices each site from the measurements, materials, labour and traffic management; Manchester’s starting price covers a dropped kerb about 3 m wide and up to 2 m towards the property, and wider or deeper crossings, verges and obstructions cost more. Surrey, Birmingham and Leeds all say that moving utility equipment, a column or street furniture in the way is charged to you.
Surrey warns of lane rental charges on some roads at peak times: up to £1,500 a day on its page, £1,500 to £3,000 a day in its guidance. In Kent you may get a dropped kerb at a reduced rate if your road is on the council’s forward works programme for footway reconstruction.
Who you pay
Some councils build the crossing and send you a quote (Hertfordshire, Birmingham, Manchester, Havering, Waltham Forest); others approve it and you hire a qualified contractor (Kent, Hampshire, Leeds, Sheffield, Bristol, Essex); Surrey and Lancashire use approved lists. Where you hire, check the contractor’s street works qualifications and public liability insurance: Kent and Bristol ask for £5 million, Hampshire and Essex £10 million, Sheffield £2 million.
Councils compared
The parking space for one car, in metres
The fee to apply
Questions
How much does a dropped kerb cost?
The council fee is £55.06 to £500 among the councils checked here, and building it usually £1,000 to £3,500 where councils publish a guide, before any street light, utility or parking bay changes.
Is the dropped kerb application fee refundable?
Mostly not. Kent refunds £231 of its £500 and Lancashire £145 of its £290 if they refuse; Hertfordshire refunds its £139 only if you cancel within 14 days; the other councils that publish a fee keep it.
Related
Sources: each council’s fee page, linked from its own page here and in the table; planning fees from 1 April 2026; read on 11 October 2026. legislation.gov.uk and GOV.UK content is used under the Open Government Licence v3.0; council figures are quoted as facts with their source, not copied text. Not legal advice and not a decision: the council decides after its own site visit. Not affiliated with any council or government department.