Planning permission for drive ?

[marsaday]

I have a concrete drive and am wanting to do a new block paved one.

I have been reading about development rights. It seems i can do what i want but it must be permeable.

So can i just use a typical block (was thinking of marshals tegula range if they still do it or possibly a natural yorkshire sandstone block if the price is right). Would these be ok, or would i need to use a special permeable block.

Also i think i need to use type 3 for the base and not type 1. any issues with this ?

[dig dug dan]

Doesnt need to be permeable, you are supposed to drain the water off to a flowerbed, or soakaway, not onto the highway if your drive slopes that way. No one round here is bothering now with either of these, as its not being enforced. Best to see what other new drives are doing round your way

[marsaday]

Mine drains onto the highway and can't really drain it into the flower bed. I could provide the channel drainage at the pavement and then drain it into my sewer connection, but this would be pointless as our road is a combo sewage system anyway. All rainwater for the drains goes into the sewer pipe.

Because i am doing my extension and drains prior to all this work, i will have building control around a lot. I don't want to be caught out doing something wrong with the drive afterwards really. Just want to do everything by the book. Not many New drives which i have seen. Someone has just done there pavement section in new concrete to replace the old concrete. Not sure why they did this as it isn't there bit of land.

[Tony McC]

If you use a threshold drain at the boundary of your new driveway, it either goes to a suds instrallation (soakaway/rain garden/swale/etc.) or you get planning permission and connect to the existing SW system.

You should check with building control as to what they would be willing to acccept. Don't tell anyone else, but some local authorities couldn't give a flying duck about surface water drainage from a new driveway, but it's always best to check first.

[marsaday]

My council seem to be more interested i think.

I have had a planning permission for my rear extension rejected and so i am now doing it under permitted development rights. Apparently this planning application (which cost £173) is valid for a year and potentially i could use it for the extension. I am happy to do my extension under PDR's though, but i have asked if i could use this planning application for my new drive.

Its a NO again !!!! I would have to reapply for PP for the drive if i want to go down this route.

So i am just going to do it under PDR's and provide a threshold drain and drain it into the garden at the front.

Small issue i have is that the soakaway will be right next to my small boundary wall. I am planning on taking this down and rebuilding. So when this gets taken down do i basically dig a soakaway under this walls and then do a new foundation and wall on top. It is only 500mm high i think.

How do i prove i have done a soaraway for planning if they ask. Do i just take photos ?

[Tony McC]

They won't ask. No-one is paying them to ask, but take photies anyway: they can be useful if you ever decide to sell the house.

You can build a soakaway beneath the drive itself, you know, and there are 'sub-base replacement cells', a bit like squashed storm cells just 150mm thick, that help with this method.

[marsaday]

I have the services on the left side of the drive coming in, so they will be in the way for the SUDS. My drive is quite narrow and not huge in length. I would post a photo, but don't think i can on this site.

So my question is could i lay just two of these cages side by side at the bottom of the drive (centre and right side). Would two be enough to drain away the water from my drive. The width is 2.7m x 10m in length.

Failing that i could drain to the left and cross over the services at the channel height which will be way higher than the services and then drop the pipe downwards once the services have been cleared. Set up a suds system in the front garden.

Other issue is the drive naturally drains to the right as house is on the left, so taking the channel drain against this natural fall also gives a few issues. Thats why a drainage system / soakaway is best set up on the right side of the drive.

[Tony McC]

You won't need two crates to drain 27m². One will be adequate

[lutonlagerlout]

we have done standard crate and terram soakaways under drives,just capped with 150mm of leanmix and then 150mm of type 1 as per usual
LLL