Do you need planning permission for a driveway in London?
Usually not, if the new surface in your front garden is permeable or drains to a permeable area. The line in the rules is more than 5 square metres of hard surface between the front of the house and the road. Impermeable paving over that size needs permission, and a dropped kerb is a separate request to the highway authority.
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The 5 square metre rule for front gardens
The rule sits in the permitted development order, the General Permitted Development Order 2015, Schedule 2 Part 1 Class F. Under paragraph F.2(b), a new hard surface of more than 5 square metres between the principal elevation of the house and a highway must be porous, or must drain to a permeable area. The text is on legislation.gov.uk.
So the question is not whether you may pave, but what you pave with and where the water goes. Gravel, a resin-bound surface laid to be porous, permeable block paving and a grass-reinforced grid all pass the first test. Solid concrete or tarmac sloping to the pavement does not. Our short explainer on permitted development shows how these rights work in general.
What changed in October 2008
Many older driveways were laid before the permeability condition existed. The government's guidance on permeable surfacing of front gardens says that from 1 October 2008, laying traditional impermeable surfacing such as impermeable concrete over a front garden, with no way to ensure permeability, requires planning permission. The guidance is on GOV.UK.
If you are buying a house with a hard-surfaced front garden, ask when the surface was laid. A driveway laid before that date is not caught by the condition. One laid afterwards in impermeable material may be, and a buyer's solicitor will sometimes ask for proof. A lawful development certificate is the formal way to record that a surface is lawful.
Under Schedule 2 Part 2 Class A.1(a), a gate, fence, wall or other enclosure next to a highway used by vehicular traffic may be up to 1 metre high without permission.
The dropped kerb is a different permission
Paving a drive does not give you a way across the pavement. For that, section 184(11) of the Highways Act 1980 lets any person ask the highway authority to construct a vehicle crossing over the footway or verge, and the authority may approve the request with or without modification. In London the authority is usually your borough.
Planning is a second question. Permitted development under Schedule 2 Part 2 Class B covers forming a means of access to a highway that is not a trunk road or a classified road, where the access is needed in connection with other permitted development. If your road is classified, or the access is not tied to other permitted work, you should expect to apply to the council. Your borough's highways team can tell you the status of your road.
Gates, walls and fences at the road edge
A new drive often brings a new gate. Under Schedule 2 Part 2 Class A.1(a), a gate, fence, wall or other enclosure next to a highway used by vehicular traffic may be up to 1 metre high without permission. Anything taller needs an application. Our guide to planning permission for a fence or wall covers heights elsewhere on the boundary.
Think about visibility at the gateway too. Tall piers or a high hedge either side of a vehicle entrance can hide people on the pavement from a driver pulling out.
When these rights do not apply
The paving rule in Part 1 belongs to houses. Flats and maisonettes do not have Part 1 rights, so paving a shared forecourt or a flat's parking space needs a different route. Listed buildings carry their own rules, and a council can remove rights in a specific area with an Article 4 direction. In a conservation area, check whether a direction covers front gardens or boundaries.
When the answer is not clear from the order, we draw the existing and proposed front garden, the gate and the crossing on a scaled site plan, and tell you which route fits. That is the work behind our planning drawings, and it is quicker than guessing and being asked to undo it.
Sources
Every figure on this page, where it comes from and a link to the original.
| Figure | Source | Link |
|---|---|---|
| 5 square metres | GPDO 2015 Sch 2 Pt 1 Class F.2(b): a new hard surface of more than 5 square metres between the principal elevation and a highway must be porous or drain to a permeable area (source wording: "would exceed 5 square metres") | www.legislation.gov.uk |
| 1 October 2008 | GOV.UK, Permeable surfacing of front gardens: guidance: from 1 October 2008, laying traditional impermeable surfacing such as impermeable concrete over a front garden, with no way to ensure permeability, requires planning permission (source wording: "From 1 October 2008") | www.gov.uk |
| means of access | GPDO 2015 Sch 2 Pt 2 Class B: permitted development covers forming a means of access to a highway that is not a trunk or classified road, where the access is needed in connection with other permitted development (source wording: "means of access to a highway which is not a trunk road or a classified road") | www.legislation.gov.uk |
| vehicle crossing | Highways Act 1980 s184(11): any person may request the highway authority to construct a vehicle crossing over a footway or verge, and the authority may approve the request with or without modification (source wording: "the construction of a vehicle crossing over the footway or verge") | www.legislation.gov.uk |
| 1 metre | GPDO 2015 Sch 2 Pt 2 Class A.1(a): a gate, fence, wall or other enclosure next to a highway used by vehicular traffic may be up to 1 metre high (source wording: "1 metre above ground level") | www.legislation.gov.uk |