Grants and financial help for accessible driveways and paving

This is general information about financial help that may be available for accessible paving work. Grant schemes, eligibility rules, and funding levels change and are managed by the relevant council or organisation, so always confirm current details directly before relying on this guide.

Paving work isn’t only about kerb appeal. For some households, a dropped kerb, a levelled path, or a non-slip surface is what makes a home genuinely usable for someone with a mobility need, and the cost of that work doesn’t always have to come entirely out of pocket.

Council disabled facilities grants

Local councils, including Cheltenham Borough Council, administer disabled facilities grants that can help fund certain home adaptations for residents with an assessed need. These schemes sometimes cover access-related paving work, such as a dropped kerb or a levelled, non-slip path to a front door, where it’s linked to a genuine mobility requirement.

Eligibility typically depends on:

• a documented need, usually following an assessment by an occupational therapist
• a means test for adult applicants, which looks at household income and savings
• confirmation that the specific work requested falls within what the scheme covers

Because eligibility criteria and funding levels are reviewed periodically and vary by circumstance, the only reliable way to know what applies to you is to contact the council directly rather than relying on a general figure.

It’s worth applying even if you’re unsure whether you’ll qualify. Councils assess each application on its specific circumstances, and a preliminary conversation with the housing or adult social care team can clarify whether it’s worth pursuing a full application before you commit time to gathering paperwork and evidence.

Getting the assessment process started

Most routes into this kind of financial help start with an occupational therapy referral, which can usually come through a GP, a hospital discharge team, or directly requesting an assessment through adult social care. The OT assessment identifies what adaptations are genuinely needed, which then supports any grant application.

Step	What it involves
Request an OT assessment	Via GP, social care, or hospital discharge team
Assessment confirms need	Identifies specific adaptations required, which may include paving
Apply to the council	Means test applied for adult applicants
Grant approved or declined	Funding level depends on assessed need and means test outcome

Other routes if a grant doesn’t cover the full cost

Grants don’t always cover the entire cost of a project, and some households don’t meet the means test threshold at all. In these cases, a few options can help:

• some paving contractors offer staged payment plans, which can make a smaller accessible fix manageable without a grant
• local charities occasionally offer more limited support for specific circumstances; Citizens Advice can point toward what’s available locally
• prioritising the highest-impact fix first (often the entry path or a single problem step) rather than a full project can bring the cost down to something more manageable independently
• some home insurance policies include limited cover for adaptations following an injury or diagnosis; it’s worth checking an existing policy before assuming a grant is the only route

Community organisations and disability charities sometimes run smaller, informal schemes too, particularly for elderly or vulnerable residents who don’t meet the threshold for a full council grant. These vary a great deal by area and are usually easiest to find through a local Age UK branch, a GP surgery noticeboard, or Citizens Advice, rather than a single national directory. If you’re helping a parent specifically, our guide on helping an elderly parent fix hazardous or uneven paving covers spotting the trip hazards this kind of funding is often used to fix.

Where to start

Contact Cheltenham Borough Council’s adult social care or housing team to ask about disabled facilities grants and how to begin an assessment, and use Citizens Advice for general guidance on the process and any other local support that might apply. Once you know what work is needed, an experienced paving repair and maintenance specialist in Cheltenham can quote the specific job, whether that’s a full grant-funded project or a smaller, self-funded fix. Our methodology page explains how we assess local contractors, and the homepage has the full directory.