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Posted: Sun Sep 21, 2008 7:58 pm
by Del
We have planning permission to do some work to our house to include constructing a new drive. In our planning application we specified gravel as the drive surface (we're out in the sticks and most drives in our village are gravel - also thought it would be a relatively cheap option). But in the end permission was granted with the following condition attached: 'no loose surface material shall be used that is capable of being drawn on to the highway'.
What I'm wondering is, does this rule out gravel altogether? Do you reckon we'd be ok with gravel if we had a strip of, say, block paving, separating the gravel from the highway? If so, how deep would the strip have to be? What about self-bonding gravel - does that count as 'loose surface material' and if so is it 'capable of being drawn onto the highway'?
All suggestions appreciated. Thanks.
Posted: Sun Sep 21, 2008 8:27 pm
by Pablo
Probably more to do with your choice of gravel and what the site gradients are. If you use a gravel of 12mm or less then it tends to be collected in tyre treads and then deposited on the raod but a 12mm + gravel won't do this. Likewise if your driveway has a slope towards the road then the gravel can migrate. A strip of paving is a tidy way of finishing an entrance but if the drive has the correct gravel and isn't overly steep then it's not neccessay.
Posted: Mon Sep 22, 2008 5:52 pm
by ambient
some local councils specify a 2 metre strip of tarmac or block paving from the road or back of pavement onto your drive to stop chippings going on to road but i would use larger stones as pablo says anyway 
Posted: Mon Sep 22, 2008 9:04 pm
by Mikey_C
from memory you need 20mm upwards, otherwise you have a very large cat litter tray. :;):
Posted: Mon Sep 22, 2008 9:24 pm
by simeonronacrete
Is it possible they want you to lay resin bound aggregate surfacing? See Ronadeck Resin Bound Surfacing
Posted: Tue Sep 23, 2008 10:08 am
by Rich H
Both planning departments and highways (for crossings) specify that loose material should not transit to the pavement or highway.
This does not preclude use of any shingle or decorative aggregate. In using loose stone for the surface of a driveway you should always have some form of threshold. The depth of the threshold from the pavement will be a function of both the gravel and the terrain. Stone which migrates easier and on a down slope will require a bigger threshold than larger stone on an upslope, etc.
I don't like 20mm shingle for a driveway as it migrates into 'dunes' very easily and doesn't compact well. 10mm shingle may have the down side of collecting in tire treads and some boots but it compacts well, doesn't dune and can be laid thinly over the Type 1. If you lay it <30mm over the sub-base and to finish 15-20mm below the threshold site you will have very little or no transit onto the pavement/highway.
Posted: Wed Sep 24, 2008 8:04 pm
by Del
Thank you everyone for your really helpful replies - much appreciated.