Access / Entrance Ways

An access is the crossing place at the road edge which allows the property owner to enter onto any street or road from the property or exit from the street or road to their property.

Section 218. (1) A council may, by order in writing to the owner of land adjoining a road, require the owner to carry out specified work to construct, remove or repair a crossing place from the road to the land. The access must be constructed to the satisfaction of any officer of council authorised for this purpose.

The following are the most frequently asked questions (with answers) in respect of this subject:

Q1 What do I have to do to put my driveway in?
Answer: If lodging a development application you are not required to do anything. Your development application will be forwarded to Council's Works and Infrastructure unit for assessment and advice of this assessment and any conditions that need to be met will be forwarded to you with the development application approval.

If you are not intending to lodge a development application in the near future you need to lodge an Access Application form with Council, along with a rough drawing of the property showing the proposed location of the access. An application fee of $69 is payable when lodging the application.

Q2 How long does it take to assess and approve my application?
Answer: Upon receipt of the application and application fee Council's Technical Assistant will inspect the proposed location of the access to ensure it meets all requirements. In most instances a letter of approval is forwarded to the applicant which will state any conditions applicable for the construction of the access. This process usually only takes 5-7 days.

In some cases, especially when Council has some concerns in relation to the proposed location of the access, we may require an on site meeting with the applicant to discuss alternative locations. This would mean that the access application would take a little longer to process.

Q3 Will Council put in my driveway?
Answer: It is the responsibility of the property owner to construct the access. Council can undertake the bitumen sealing of the area from the road edge in to the property boundary. The cost for this work is the responsibility of the property owner.

Q4 Can my driveway be either concreted or paved to the road edge instead of bitumenising the section from the road edge to the boundary?
Answer:Yes, however approval of this is required from Council and it is necessary for Council's Technical Assistant to inspect the work prior to the laying of the concrete or pavers to ensure correct levels at the road edge. Council can, at the completion of the concreting or paving fill in the gap (usually approximately 300mm) at the road edge so the concreting or paving is finished off neatly.

Application Form:

Application to construct access to private property 12.13(62 kb)