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 Authority Please check with them first before submitting an application to Warrington Borough Council Highway Asset Maintenance.

You must get agreement from Warrington Borough Council’s Highway Asset Maintenance 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:

1. Read the vehicle access crossing information pack

This will give you guidance on whether to proceed and what else you may need to do before submitting an application.

You can request a hard copy of the information pack by telephoning Contact Warrington on 01925 443322.

2. Complete the Application Form (property holder)

If you are satisfied that your property meets the requirements complete the application form and email it to highwaymaintenance@warrington.gov.uk or post it to

Warrington Borough Council
Highway Asset Maintenance & Street Works
New Town House
Buttermarket Street
Warrington
WA1 2FG

Make sure you enclose all the information as detailed in the information pack and on the application form.

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. We will also provide you with a quotation should you wish to engage the authority to carryout the work.

3. Use a competent contractor to build the vehicle crossing for you

If you decide to use a contractor of your own you will need to give a copy of the approval document, conditions and specification to the contractor and they will submit an application to us requesting permission to carry out the work on the highway called a permit to dig. The permit to dig application process will take up to 28 days. It is likely they will recharge the permit to dig 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 with New Roads & Street Works Accreditation

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 six months from the date of approval, so carefully consider the timing of your application.

Ongoing responsibility

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

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

Additional costs

Dropped Crossing Information Pack.pdf