Couple who paid Milton Keynes Council almost £4,000 for dropped kerb outside her house slams 'terrible service’

A couple who paid a small fortune so they could park outside their own home have slammed the service they received from the council.

Heidi Crow and her husband were fed up of having to jostle for street parking in The Crescent at Haversham.

They decided to knock out their front garden and turn it into a driveway, which meant they had to apply to MK Council for a dropped kerb to enable access.

The application caused two nasty surprises – firstly the cost and secondly the delay after the council took their money.

"I applied to the council’s highways department at the beginning of May and paid a £199 deposit, which was non-refundable if the application was refused,” said Heidi.

"I was told I’d get a response within 10 days but the weeks went by and, despite my constant phone calls and emails, I heard nothing.”

Eventually a highways officer visited the address and agreed the council could fit a dropped kerb. Heidi promptly paid the full charge – £3,668.75.

"It seems a lot of money for the council to change a kerb, but we really need it done,” she said.

She was promised the work would be completed within 12 weeks but still heard nothing.

This week, after the 12 weeks expired, she contacted her MP Ben Everitt and also the Citizen to ask for help.

"The council was quick enough to take my money. They’ve had it since the end of May, but I still haven’t got a date for the work to start. The service is simply terrible,” she said.

Mr Everitt’s assistant this week contacted the council, as did the Citizen.

An MK Council spokeswoman said today (Wednesday): “I understand that these works are taking place this week.”

She added: “We’ve had a large number of vehicle crossing applications over the last few weeks. The application process was suspended temporarily during lockdown periods so this has meant a backlog once the process was restarted.

“Each application must be assessed by a highways officer including a site visits and checks for any underground utilities.”

Meanwhile, without notifying Heidi and her husband, council workmen turned up today and started the work.