A vehicle crossing is the section of driveway from the front of the property boundary to the roadway. It is possible to widen or relocate your vehicle crossing.
Although the road reserve is owned by the Council, vehicle crossings are to be installed at the property owners expense.
The physical work cannot be done by yourself, the yellow pages lists contractors who can install vehicle crossings under ‘roading contractors - driveways or roading’.
A new vehicle crossing must comply with the requirements of the relevant Plan and the Christchurch City Council, Construction Standard Specifications. Compliance depends on a number of factors such as setbacks from intersections and the type of road frontage.
Trees
It is important that any tree issues are clarified at the initial design phase of applications. There are no guarantees that street tree removals or excessive pruning will be approved, especially where trees are healthy and structurally sound and there are alternatives to a proposed design.
The Christchurch City Council Construction Standard Specification (Protection of Natural Assets and Habitats section) will apply to works within the vicinity of Council owned trees. The excavation and construction may require supervision by an arborist, and root barriers may be required along the edge of the vehicle crossing to minimise potential future damage that may be caused by tree roots. Any tree removals or pruning must be carried out by a Council tree maintenance contractor, and all works usually occur at the applicant’s expense.
Applications that involve the removal or pruning of a protected tree (Notable, Heritage and Special Purpose Road Zone) and works within 10.0 metres of Notable and Heritage trees will require a resource consent.
What is the process?
An application form must be completed and submitted with a fee per crossing. You can download an application form, or you can pick one up from any Council service centre.
If there are obstructions to the proposed vehicle crossing, such as trees, or storm water drains, let us know and we will advise you of your options.
If you have not had a response to your application within 14 days, please contact the Council on (03) 941 8999 as you are not able to start the work until approval has been given.
The Transport and Greenspace Unit must be notified 24 hours prior to commencement of work so that two inspections can be done on the vehicle crossing:
1. Before the cutdown is poured.
2. Before the sealing is complete. Second inspection involves an impact test (Clegg Hammer Test) to ensure the crossing is strong enough to take traffic.
Please contact the Council by phoning (03) 941 8999 to arrange an inspection. You can also make a request online, using our online form, make a query or report a problem.
Minimum width for a vehicle crossing
Under the Christchurch City Plan
There are a number of rules in the Christchurch City Plan which control the length and number of vehicle crossings, the distances between crossings, and the distance of crossings from an intersection.
For residential activities, the minimum width of a vehicle crossing is 3.5 metres and the maximum width is 6 metres. Vehicle crossings must be located at least 7.5 metres apart. The number of vehicle crossings allowed for each site will depend on the length of the frontage of the site and the classification of the road that the site fronts. The location of vehicle crossings from an intersection will also depend on the classification of the roads which intersect.
The length of vehicle crossings for non-residential activities are required to be a minimum of 4 metres in width, a maximum width of 9 metres, and be located 15 metres apart.
Non-compliance with any of the rules relating to vehicle crossings will required resource consent.
For further information, please refer to the Part 13 Transport in Volume 3 of the Christchurch City Plan or contact the Duty Planner on (03) 941 8999 .
Under the Banks Peninsula Proposed District Plan
The required standard for the construction of access depends upon a number of factors including the number of users and whether or not the access is on to a State Highway. Please contact a Duty Planner in Lyttelton to discuss, by calling (03) 941 8999 .
