New Driveways in Surrey

Block paving is the most flexible choice. Concrete blocks come in many colours and can be laid to a herringbone, basketweave or banded pattern, and because each block is separate, a damaged one can be lifted and replaced without disturbing the rest of the drive. Our Block Paved Driveway project, a new drive in grey block paving with a darker border, shows the clean, solid look it gives a house.

Tarmac gives a smooth, skid resistant surface at a lower build height, and suits long or wide drives as well as commercial entrances. Permeable tarmac is also available where the drive needs to let water through. Resin bound surfaces mix natural stone with resin and are trowelled smooth, giving a smooth, even finish that water drains straight through. Resin bonded, where loose stone is scattered onto a coat of resin, gives a more textured finish. Gravel is the simplest permeable surface of all, laid over a compacted base with a solid edge to hold it in.

• Block paving in a choice of colours and laying patterns
• Tarmac, including permeable tarmac
• Resin bound and resin bonded finishes
• Gravel driveways with a properly edged base

A block paved drive is typically 50 to 60mm of block on about 40mm of screeded sharp sand, over about 150mm of MOT Type 1 crushed stone laid in layers and compacted with a plate or roller. Under that goes a geotextile membrane to keep the stone base apart from the soil. That means digging out roughly 250mm below the finished surface before anything is laid, and further where the dig finds soft clay, old rubble or made up ground.

Tarmac is built from about 150mm of compacted sub base, a binder course of about 50mm that carries the load, and a surface course of about 20mm rolled while hot. Resin bound needs a base that lets water pass, so it is usually laid about 18mm thick on around 70mm of open graded porous asphalt, over a permeable crushed stone sub base. Whatever the surface, the bottom of the dig is levelled and compacted, with falls set so water runs away from the house.

• Block paving: about 250mm dug out below finished level
• Tarmac: about 150mm sub base, 50mm binder, 20mm surface
• Resin bound: about 18mm on 70mm porous base and sub base
• Deeper digs where the ground is soft or made up

Block paving and gravel both need a solid edge. Kerbs or edging blocks are set on a concrete bed and haunched behind, so the surface cannot spread outwards under the weight of a car. Edges are set to line and level first, and they guide everything laid between them.

Water is planned before the dig starts. A drive is laid to a fall away from the house, and where it runs down towards a garage or front door, a drainage channel across the slope collects the water and takes it to a suitable outlet. The finished level against the house is kept below the damp proof course, which building regulations guidance expects to sit at least 150mm above the ground outside. Existing inspection chamber covers within the drive are adjusted to the new finished level.

In England, paving more than 5 square metres of a front garden does not need planning permission as long as the surface is permeable, or the rain runs off onto a lawn or border within your own property. A non permeable surface over 5 square metres that drains onto the road does need planning permission. Permeable options include gravel, resin bound and permeable tarmac.

Standard block paving and conventional tarmac shed most of their water, so on a front driveway they are laid to fall towards a lawn, a border or a drainage channel that keeps the water on your land. Some properties have had these rights removed by a planning condition or an Article 4 direction, so it is worth checking with your local planning authority if your home is affected. We plan the surface and drainage with these rules in mind on the site visit.

If the new drive needs a dropped kerb to reach the road, that part sits on the public highway, so it needs consent from the highway authority before anyone can build it. Around us that is Surrey County Council for most of Surrey, Croydon Council for Purley and the rest of the borough, and West Sussex County Council for Crawley and East Grinstead. Each one sets its own rules, fees and process, and decides who may build the crossing.

In Surrey, for example, the county council asks for written confirmation from your district or borough council that planning permission is not needed, or a copy of the permission, and the crossing is built by one of its approved contractors. A crossing onto a classified road is more likely to need planning permission. We advise on whether your drive needs one and set the levels of the new driveway to meet the crossing, but the dropped kerb itself is arranged through the council.