Driveway access fire brigade Reduced width long length

[Oz07]

I've read up other topics on here and am wondering about this access for fire service. Plot has full pp. Access is just over 2750 mainly around 2900 on average but this does depend on conifers being trimmed. The regs as I read them allow for this width for a reduced distance. It is an 80m run but will have a turning head at the bottom. Can't remember if I read max distance from appliance to nearest hydrant? According to pp the surfacing needs to stay as is ('nt), near non existent apart from some overgrown concrete and tarmac towards the top steep end. Im sure they would be ok with some extra hardcore. I suspect as suggested on other threads will be a case of getting in touch with bc or fire service prior to purchase and getting confirmation of suitability to insure myself. 

[Mr Punter]

I cannot imagine the fire service agreeing to use a narrow sloping grass track to access the property.

[Oz07]

Its been given planning permission, are access details not considered at all in terms of highway standards? Tbf its concrete and tarmac on the steep bit at the top, just somewhat overgrown. The rest will have hardcore so will be able to support the weight of the vehicles. I've viewed houses and recent barn conversions that are up farm tracks so it mustn't be that unusual?

[kandgmitchell]

The planners would not have considered FB access to the same degree as Building Control. Look up Requirement B5 in Approved Document B Volume 1 on line - that sets out the basic Building Regulation requirements.

[Russell griffiths]

 

this is my driveway, which looks huge in width compared with those pics of yours. 
building control walked up and down it for half an hour checking the width, it was one thing they where sticky about. 

[JohnMo]

They have to have a turning space at the house end, so no reversing back down the lane. They need a defined weight loading design fir the road so they don't get stuck.

[Ferdinand]

IIRC the minimum reduced with is 2.75m so you are on the edge, and really need to make sure that your hedge is some way back form that.

If if is' your hedge, one way is to replace it it with something better than conifers, and set it back further (which may mean make it thinner). If it is someone else's would they let you replace it.

On the surface, I don't see why grass car park reinforcement would be a worse idea - it will be absorbed into the grass, and with little traffic would vanish into the earth / grass.

Needs a careful reading of your PP wording, a conversation with the Fire Brigade or check of regs, and perhaps an application for a variation of the condition. Present it as something they did not consider?

You could point out (or do if they say no) that you could consolidate the surface by legally driving up and down it 19645 times in a borrowed Fire Engine, so it would be better for all if they allowed it to be reinforced in an eco-friendly manner leaving it looking no different and less vulnerable to being turned into a mud-bath in the winter.

A further option could be a sprinkler system, which mitigates risk of fires.

 

[Ferdinand]

Or you could get yourself a special fire brigade 😉:
 

 

[Oz07]

Plot not been purchased yet so all I've got to do is make purchase conditional upon this issue being sorted beforehand. As long as they have in excess of the minimum width, with the turning head at the bottom and the track can support the weight (delivery wagons soon prove this) what can they say? When finished and used regularly track surface would finish up like @Russell griffiths above. 

[Oz07]

Does anyone know if you can start on a building notice to get a bco out and access approved. Then either convert to full plan submission or just revert back to working off full plans as per normal 

[Ferdinand]

8 hours ago, Oz07 said:

Does anyone know if you can start on a building notice to get a bco out and access approved. Then either convert to full plan submission or just revert back to working off full plans as per normal 

 

You may be able to have a conversation and a visit from the BCO just by ringing up and asking; they tend to be more approachable informally than Planning (in my experience),

Just know exactly what your questions & ideas are ready for when you talk to them, and have any plans, Streetview Links etc ready to send by email whilst you are on the phone so you can have a good chance of resolving it in one hit.