Installing a driveway

mgfvvc

Sncjw said:

Probably looking for block paving.and we have a drain at the bottom near the house 

A drain at the bottom may not be enough. We have a proper soakaway, installed by a reputable local firm. Even with the soakaway, occasionally we get a storm big enough to overwhelm the soakaway and we get a centimetre or two of water in the garage.

Cheslea2010

A driveway will likely increase the value of the property if done properly, so there is the gain from that to consider.

facade

Sncjw said:

Probably looking for block paving.and we have a drain at the bottom near the house 

Get the largest blocks that you can to minimise the edges where weeds can grow, and make sure that the installer includes a couple of coats of sealant on the blocks.

Then you can clean it by watering it with 15% hypochlorite, leaving 20 minutes and rinsing off with a hosepipe. Never jetwash it, as this forces weed seeds into the crevices and washes out the weedkiller sand.

My block paved drive is 20 years old, and it looks as bad today as it did 19 years ago (I can't be bothered cleaning it, as it is a waste of time, the algae & weeds are back almost overnight.

Block paving is better than concrete as when you need work on the water pipe or cables underneath they can lift the blocks and replace them.

Tbh, the best drive is 2 lines of flagstones, one for each wheel, but they do look very 1960s

Grumpy_chap

Sncjw said:

In total it's going to be around 5k with the drop kerbbfrom the council but we don't have exact figure from the council. 

That charge from the Council is probably about right as you can only use approved contractors for the work in the public highway.
For comparison, we had a dropped kerb constructed in 2011 and the charge from our Council then was a little over £3k.  Not much can be done about the Council charge as they have total control.

The driveway part will be additional, but you have more choices there and can do the work in stages, or a lower-cost solutions if that works better financially.

35har1old said:

If you decide on a concrete or  any non permable surface you will probably need planning permission 

The OP should check local policy in case of any by-laws or specific restrictions, but dropped kerbs and constructing a driveway are usually Permitted Development and do not require Planning Permission unless on a classified road.

Regardless, the dropped kerb will require permission from the Council and the Highways process is almost as stringent as Planning process.

Sncjw

unforeseen said:

We want a driveway anyways due to parking issues on our street. 

If there are already parking issues on the street then there is a good chance of not getting a dropped kerb due to the loss of parking spaces. 

Why when the space was just for our car. The reason why there's issues is because people have 2-3 cars on our end of the street per house. The rest of the street has driveways perfectly fine and drop kerbs 

Sncjw

The drop kerb won't cost 5k but I'm saying the job for driveway and drop kerb in total 

unforeseen

Sncjw said:

unforeseen said:

We want a driveway anyways due to parking issues on our street. 

If there are already parking issues on the street then there is a good chance of not getting a dropped kerb due to the loss of parking spaces. 

Why when the space was just for our car. The reason why there's issues is because people have 2-3 cars on our end of the street per house. The rest of the street has driveways perfectly fine and drop kerbs 

The space wasn't just for your car but for anybody who wishes to park there as its a public highway.
A dropped kerb has a tendency to remove two parking spaces from the the highway 

soolin

I know there is a lot of politics around electric cars and not trying to get into that - but did the salesman warn you about the extra costs? I don't mean the drive way as that is something you have chosen to do, but for instance the cost of installing the home charger, paying for a drop kerb etc? Also were you given any advice about the waiting times for these ?

Admittedly I live in a London Borough but a neighbour of a friend in the same area was refused a dropped kerb due to parking issues around a multiple new build near her older property  and removing what would have been 2 parking spaces was considered an issue for the local parking stresses.

Also do you have a back up plan for any delays in getting a home charger (no idea what wait times are in your area) and getting a dropped kerb, do you have easily accessible local chargers that you can use? 

born_again

soolin said:

I know there is a lot of politics around electric cars and not trying to get into that - but did the salesman warn you about the extra costs? I don't mean the drive way as that is something you have chosen to do, but for instance the cost of installing the home charger, paying for a drop kerb etc? Also were you given any advice about the waiting times for these ?

Admittedly I live in a London Borough but a neighbour of a friend in the same area was refused a dropped kerb due to parking issues around a multiple new build near her older property  and removing what would have been 2 parking spaces was considered an issue for the local parking stresses.

Also do you have a back up plan for any delays in getting a home charger (no idea what wait times are in your area) and getting a dropped kerb, do you have easily accessible local chargers that you can use? 

As  this is a motability car, it is part of the package.

henry24

Couldn't you do what millions of others will have to do in a few years and run a cable from your house to the road, the money you save on your driveway will pay for your electricity