Planning details: ACCESS
Mike Dade provides his expert guidance on this sometimes tricky aspect of a building project
Before Richard and Pamela Pearse obtained planning permission for their self build, they received some objections from neighbours relating to visibility and access. When a local officer came to inspect the site, he said he could find several existing houses nearby with similar or worse concerns. In the end, the Pearses presented their case at a planning committee meeting and the panel voted in their favour
Access is one of those essential considerations for self builders that’s hard to get excited about – a bit like drainage. When you’re looking at a plot to buy or a building to convert, there are two very different aspects of this topic to consider. The first of these is the legal right to gain entry to your site, while the second is the adequacy of the approach, both in practical terms and with regards to highway safety. Both are of fundamental importance. The former makes certain that you can actually get to your plot and the latter ensures you can gain planning permission to build what you want on it.
Rights of access
Most plots feature a frontage onto a public highway, but occasionally entry is via a private road. The majority of these sites do not actually abut a highway; there’s usually a pavement or verge of some description between what would be your ownership boundary and the road itself. The footpath or space edging the road is normally in the ownership of the local highway authority, which will grant a right of access over their land without cost. This usually short stretch of your drive is known as a crossover.