Stamped concrete driveway

MikeL93

Currently at my house the driveway is made up of concrete that has a very thin layer of tarmac on top, it is literally 3cm at most, which is cracking and making the drive look untidy. The other part of my driveway is made up of flags (which are now cracked and uneven) that the previous owner put down to create more parking space and ripped up the grass in his front garden. My house was built in the 70's and my next door neighbour has told me that what is my driveway was probably done in the early 90's. When I had the survey on my house carried out the driveway was highlighted as needing immediate attention but I haven't got round to it until now.

I have considered lots of different options and I am settling on stamped concrete. I have spoken to the company who did my sisters drive a few years ago and they have said that they will leave "trenches" so to speak on either side of my drive, one side of my drive currently has a flowerbed in it that runs the length of my drive which I will be keeping. He has also said he will replace all the grids that are on my drive. Having looked there is actually only one grid and that is near my front door. My driveway currently is pretty much flat so when it rains the water doesn't tend to run off it into the street.

As the trenches will be left at the side of my drive will this be enough sufficient drainage for the planning permission?

GDB2222

If your present drive is impermeable, can you not replace it with a new impermeable one?

forgotmyname

Fairly sure you need planning permission if it's not permeable or runs off to a permeable area.  May depend where you live
and the size?

The idea of the permeable surface is exactly that your water should not be flowing into the street which may overflow the
drains. Too many properties have fitted paving or concreted over grass/planting areas so the water just runs directly off into
the storm drains.

IvanOpinion

One word of warning, we used stamped cement for a patio area, it was quite slippy when wet.

driveaway

While it’s possible to replace an impermeable driveway with a new one, it’s important to consider current regulations and drainage concerns. Planning laws often require permeable solutions or effective drainage systems to prevent water runoff issues. Imprinted concrete can be made compliant by incorporating proper drainage channels or soakaways. This ensures your driveway meets legal standards while maintaining a durable and attractive finish. I've just replace my pattern imprinted concrete drive with resin bound gravel, a lot less slippy and it permeable - it looks nice to !