Birmingham’s streets are going through an alarming development of unlawful dropped kerbs and the illegal felling of timber by residents searching for unapproved driveways.
Metropolis officers have voiced sturdy opposition to those unauthorised actions, emphasising that each the destruction of timber and set up of dropped kerbs with out permits not solely undermines metropolis planning but in addition contribute to environmental hurt and elevated highway congestion.
We take a look at what number of incidents have been recorded, why planning permission is required for dropped kerbs and what officers plan to do to resolve the matter.
Over 1,400 circumstances in Birmingham alone
Over 1,400 stories have are available concerning unlawful dropped kerbs all through Birmingham, with a notable uptick in circumstances the place residents have resorted to chopping down timber to create room for brand new driveways.
These figures come from Birmingham Metropolis Council, with the council’s Cupboard Member for Atmosphere, Councillor Majid Mahmood, figuring out the unlawful dropped kerbs are “typically poorly constructed and/or in unsuitable areas” creating further hazards, equivalent to highway ponding and unlawful double parking.
Councillor Mahmood pressured that these actions disrupt the pure panorama and place pointless pressure on native infrastructure.
What are the planning guidelines round dropped kerbs?
Should you’re creating new off-street parking (equivalent to a driveway) on your property, putting in a dropped kerb is a authorized requirement.
Dropped kerbs, which decrease the sting of the pavement for autos, shield pedestrians and utilities beneath the pavement.
In case your property is on a categorized highway (like an A, B, or C highway), in a conservation space, or in case your constructing is listed, you’ll want planning permission.
Putting in a dropped kerb usually prices £1,500 to £3,000, plus utility charges round £300, nevertheless, if further work is required, equivalent to eradicating timber, prices can rise considerably.
Request despatched to West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner to take a ‘powerful stance’
To handle the rising circumstances of unlawful felling and unapproved dropped kerbs, Councillor Mahmood has known as on West Midlands Police for help in implementing current legal guidelines, which make it a legal offense to break timber with out correct authorisation.
He has written to West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster to take a “powerful stance” on the matter, requesting a coordinated strategy to curb the unfold of those unlawful developments.
“If we don’t act, extra residents will really feel emboldened to take these actions,” Mahmood warned, calling for a gathering to debate doable joint actions to guard town’s timber and roadways.
These unlawful kerbs and the related elimination of timber fall beneath the Felony Harm Act 1971 and the City and Nation Planning Act 1990, which may result in important penalties.
Now we have contacted Birmingham Metropolis’s Planning Division to see if any motion had been taken to counteract this rise in unapproved dropped kerbs however haven’t but acquired remark.
