Can you block a driveway without a dropped kerb?

Opinions were divided when a woman refused to stop parking in front of her neighbour's driveway because it has unlawful access - but what are the rules?

Astrid Cooper, 34, from Brislington in Bristol, had several notes taped to her car asking her to park further away.

Her neighbour turned their front lawn into a driveway a year ago but failed to install a designated dropped kerb, meaning the conversion does not comply with the law.

So are people really not entitled to driveway rights without an official dropped kerb?

A dropped kerb, or vehicle crossover, is a section of pavement that has been dropped to the level of the road to allow "vehicles to cross the pavement from the road to a driveway", according to the government.

Gloucestershire Council explained it is the "legal means to allow you to access your property safely using a car" and prior permission to install one must be sought from the council.

The authority's planning application portal states "unauthorised vehicle crossovers will cause the footway to deteriorate and put those using the footway at risk".

The simple answer is yes but you cannot legally use it to drive your car in and out.

In effect, it is a parking space in your garden with no official access from the road.

The pavement outside your house belongs to the local council. By driving over it to access your private drive, you are breaking the Highways Act.

Under the act, if you keep driving over the pavement outside your house to access your property, the council can intervene and either install a proper dropped kerb or put rules in place about how you use it.

Though Bristol City Council declined to comment on Cooper's specific case, it did confirm that a dropped kerb was required for legal access across the highway.

BBC News has found no record of a planning application relating to the conversion.

Under the Traffic Management Act 2004, councils can usually ticket vehicles parked adjacent to a dropped kerb.

But with no dropped kerb, there is very limited legal protection.

While the Highway Code does advise drivers to avoid "stopping in front of property entrances or driveways" the rule is just advisory.

However, the police can step in if a vehicle is "causing an obstruction or hazard".

If a parked vehicle is preventing you from leaving your driveway or forcing pedestrians to enter the road, you can report it to police.

According to the RAC, that depends on where you are in the country.

Pavement parking is currently banned outright in London and Scotland.

In Somerset, the authority said it was not illegal "unless there is an adjacent parking restriction" while Wiltshire Council said it was illegal to park on a pavement.

In 2025, emergency services faced severe delays in Malmesbury as they struggled to weave through the narrow streets due to "poor and inconsiderate parking".

In 2024 Bristol City Council set up a task force to look at the issue of pavement parking across the city.

Councils across England are to be given more extensive powers to fine motorists who cause disruption by parking on the pavement.

The new powers are due to take effect later this year alongside guidance on how the rules can be enforced in a "proportionate" way.

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