Considering Converting Your Front Garden into a Drive?

With limited space being a major issue in the UK, turning your front garden into extra parking can be a tempting option. Additional off-street parking can also add considerable value to your property, especially so for housing in expensive urban areas. This could be an ideal solution for anyone that is having to fight for parking, has a bit of space in the front of the house and especially if they live multiple vehicle household.

The good news is that in many cases you do not need planning permission to create or replace a driveway. This depends on the area, material and ensuring you have PD rights. If it is a porous material, such as gravel or permeable asphalt or block paving and you have PD rights, you usually will not require planning permission. If it is more than five square metres of impermeable material, planning permissions will most likely be required as drainage will need to be considered.

A paved drive also needs to have a dropped kerb for easy access. If you already have a partially paved or paved front garden, you need to ensure that it was designed for parking, because if not, it will not be suitable due to lacking the proper amount of hardcore underneath. If this is the case, it will not take the weight of a car.