Driveways and dropped kerbs

A driveway at a house in England does not need planning permission if the surface lets water drain through, or if rain runs off it onto a lawn or border within the property. A dropped kerb is a separate matter. It always needs an application to the council, and on some roads it needs planning permission too.

The limits

Where	Area	Rule
Between the front of the house and a road	Up to 5 square metres	Any surface
Between the front of the house and a road	Over 5 square metres	Porous, or drains to a permeable area within the property
Anywhere else	Any	No surface rule

• The rule covers a new surface and replacing more than 5 square metres of an existing one.
• Porous options include gravel, permeable concrete block paving and porous asphalt.
• A traditional impermeable driveway over 5 square metres at the front, with no drainage to a permeable area, needs planning permission.
• It covers houses only, not flats, and not houses converted from another use without a planning application or added as new storeys on an existing building.

Dropped kerbs

A dropped kerb lets a vehicle cross the pavement to reach a driveway. Driving over a pavement without one is illegal. You apply to your council, and the work must be done by a contractor accredited under the New Roads and Street Works Act.

When permission is needed for the access

• The road is a classified road or a trunk road. Permitted development never covers a new access onto these.
• On any other road, a new access is permitted only when it is needed for other permitted development, such as a new driveway. Access works on their own can need permission.
• The property is divided into flats, is listed or is in a conservation area, or structural work is needed to make the parking area.

Ask the council whether your road is classified. New gates or walls beside a road used by vehicles are limited to 1m high.

Source: The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015, Schedule 2, Part 1 and Part 2, legislation.gov.uk; Paving your front garden and Dropped kerbs, Planning Portal; Apply for a dropped kerb, gov.uk.