Planning Permission Required for Driveway Help.

bauk

I have a shared driveway between my house and the neighbour's. I'm thinking about using this access to be able to park in my front garden. My question is do I need planning permission to be able to do that? I understand from reading some literature on the council website that if I wanted to create a new access straight into my front garden then I would need something like 4.5m depth and 2.5m width (I actually have 4.3m depth and 7m width).

Thanks in advance.

phill99

Maybe you could ring your council planning department and get the definitive answer.

bauk

yep I did that today and they said someone should call me tomorrow... I can't believe I am 20cm short of the minimum depth!.. although there are a few houses that have drives... I wonder if I can dispute them if they say no...

bauk

Looks like I haven't got a straight answer from the council. No one seems to know if I need planning permission to be able to park my car in my front garden if a have a shared drive which gives me access to my property.

Cash-Cow_3

Creating a new access does not need planning permission unless the road you gain access from is classified or you are in a conservation area or otherwise have permitted development rights removed from your house. You will need planning permission on non-porous drives. But....... the highways department (not the planners) may have a policy about only allowing one access to a property. If you already have an access they may not allow you to have another one even if you say you will close the existing shared one.

If you have insufficient depth and your car would hang over the plot then they (highways) might say no. You can only ask.

casper_g

AIUI the OP doesn't want a new access, he/she wants to use the existing shared access to park in her/his front garden. Is this right, OP? So, the only change needed would be to pave the front garden. This will need planning permission if normal impermeable paving is to be used, as the area to be paved is over 5m².

bauk

Hi..

Yes I have a shared drive that has access and I could use that if I am able to knock down part of the front brick wall to open up the entrance so I can park my car on my front garden instead of the shared drive. In fact I remeasured my front garden and I have just about 4.5m (maybe short by 1/2cm). So what would I need from the council? or can I just do it without notifying anyone?

Another option would be to ask to extend the access I have already which I understand I have to go through the drop kerb process and fill out an application form.

Basically I just want to park my car in my front garden... and possibly use the access I have already if I don't have to involve the council with the square footage as they may deem my space to be a couple of cm short.

Cash-Cow_3

If you are just going to park on the garden and not extend or create a new access then you don't need to tell the council anything as long as the parking area you create is porous. If it's the standard block pave type and larger than 5m2 you will need planning permission.

Johnhowell

The 4.5m depth of driveway is probably necessary to ensure the parked vehicle does not overhang the public highway/footway.

If your arrangement requires that the new parking is parallel (not 90deg) to the road then the width may be relaxed... That is...when you drive onto the shared driveway you will turn 90deg (left or right) onto your new parking space...

As others have said, planning permission will be required if the new driveway is larger than 5 squ.m and is impermeable. You will have to demonstrate where the surface water runoff will drain to. Specifically, not into any highway drainage system. The usual method is a slot drain across the access at the boundary with the public highway and piped to a soakaway in your lawn. This is a simplistic summary.

Good luck,
John

bauk

Thank you for your replies... it does look like I will need planning permission as my front garden is probably 4.5m x 7m. How about the front brick wall? I will need to remove some of it (probably about 1m) to create a wider opening in order to turn my car? Would this also require planning permission?