create new tarmac drive on garden?

lelole

Hi, we are considering purchasing a house, it ticks lots of boxes, but we feel the the driveway is small and we would have difficulty maneouvering (sp?!) our car (s) in and out.

We were thinking of widening the driveway to 2 car, by tarmacing over half of the front garden, which is currently laid to lawn and mature shrubs. The area we would need to tarmac in addition to the existing driveway is 6m long and width of a normal driveway...

Could somebody just give me a rough idea as to how expensive it would be? Are we talking hundreds? thousands? Anything we may not have considered that may make it impossible??

Thanks so much,

Leah and family

macman

What's the area?-6m x ?M.
Bear in mind that under the new regs introduced last year, you cannot tarmac over front gardens without planning permission. You have to use permeable paving to stay within permitted development rights. Have a look at:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/planningandbuilding/pdf/pavingfrontgardens.pdf.

lelole

Hi, thanks for the link, I had no idea that planning permission is required to Tarmac part of your garden, so will have to think again... We could think about gravel, or we may just have to decide this house isn't the one...

Thank for letting us know

Leah and family

DVardysShadow

lelole wrote: »

Hi, thanks for the link, I had no idea that planning permission is required to Tarmac part of your garden, so will have to think again... We could think about gravel, or we may just have to decide this house isn't the one...

Thank for letting us know

Leah and family

Gravel is horrible. It does not stay where it is put and it is hard work to walk on.

The_Wall

DVardysShadow wrote: »

Gravel is horrible. It does not stay where it is put and it is hard work to walk on.

Not strictly true. A couple of years ago I saw something that you put down that reduced the movement of gravel, and did make it easier to walk on. Would add to the cost though.

Cannot remember the name though, which makes it hard to Google for.

The_Wall

Found it, it is called celluar paving, see http://www.pavingexpert.com/cellpav1.htm

Actually there is a lot of information on this website about what you could do for a driveway

casper_g

Permeable paving doesn't have to mean gravel. The Environment Agency gives useful guidance. I can't post a link but Google "Guidance on the permeable surfacing of front gardens " for more info.

square_bear

If the driveway does not slope towards the road then you would not need to apply for planning permission.

If the driveway does slope towards the road then you need to install a drainage channel across the entrance to your drive and connect the outlet to a soakaway or an existing surface water outlet.

If you construct your driveway like this and can prove that the surface water drains to a suitable outlet then you do not need planning permission.

If you decide to go for the gravel option then the first 1.5m from the driveway entrance towards the house needs to be made of a solid construction (concrete, block paving or Tarmac) so as to prevent the majority of the loose stones from spreading over the pavement or road.

Tarmac estimate 2.5 - 3.5k
Gravel estimate 2 - 2.5K

lelole

Hi,

Thanks so much for these replies, we have now put an offer in on the house, so will have to wait and see if it is accepted...

I must admit, I was worried about gravel because of the potential for spilling over the edge of the garden, so it is interesting to see the cellular thing!

Thank you all for your help, it has really helped us make our decision...

Leah :beer: