Greenwich Council pays £1,000 over eight-month wait for a dropped kerb

Greenwich Council has paid a resident £1,000 after taking eight months from his payment to start extending the dropped kerb outside his house, then beginning the job without telling him.

The man, referred to as Mr X, applied on 19 December 2024 and paid a £125 inspection fee. The council approved the application a month later and sent him a quote, having said the work could take up to 16 weeks to begin. He finished his hardstanding parking bay in March 2025 and paid the council £5,237 for the kerb works the following month.

Eight months of waiting, then no warning

When the 16 weeks passed with nothing done, Mr X made a formal complaint. The traffic order was advertised on 22 October, six months after he handed over the money, and crews arrived on 15 December. Nobody told him they were coming, and he says that is why his car was stuck on the drive for five days.

The finished kerb was also shorter than he expected, at 2.4 metres rather than the 3.3 metres he had been quoted for. Council policy caps the length at 2.4 metres. Because he was told only once the work had begun, he could not cancel it and get a refund.

What the ombudsman ordered Greenwich Council to do

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman found fault in the delay, in the wrong measurement he was given and in the way the council kept him informed. Its report said: “There was also poor communication by the council. This caused Mr X injustice. He paid out a significant sum of money which the council held for almost a year before completing the works.” The £1,000 was ordered to reflect his distress, the inconvenience and the poor communication, and the fact that the kerb was smaller than he had been led to expect.

A council spokesperson said Greenwich had apologised and paid, and that steps were now in place “to avoid future errors”. Staff assessing applications will work through a new checklist for site inspections covering the policy rules and the measurements. External contractors have been told to give applicants at least 48 hours’ warning before work starts, and to keep vehicle access open wherever they can. The updated dropped kerb policy, which sets out the criteria and key timeframes, is on the council’s website.