Driveway planning

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Hi good afternoon I’m looking to install a new driveway in the front of my property it’s currently grass built on at least 900mm of clay so can’t use a soakaway as garden won’t soak as I have open trench currently off new water pipe and it sits full of water. The gutter from the front of my property goes into next doors drain as it’s shared and on her side of the house it’s semi detached. The only alternative I can see is piping a underground pipe into our combined sewer in the back garden to get rid of the water. Does this sound practical and also what is the worst that can happen if I go ahead without the driveway but don’t go down the planning permission route would the council really notice the new driveway or come to tell me to put it back how it was if I was to plead ignorance about any planning permission etc. thanks
 
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Hi,

Definitely not an expert, but there have been plenty of incidents in my area, of the council carrying out enforcement and fines for driveways being used without a dropped kerb.
The council will notice (probably from an annonymous informant! :cautious: ).
 
Legally, you must have dropped kerb, so that will involve permission and an approved contractor to do. Council are now very keen on ensuring there is proper green drainage, so that part of the scheme may need approval.
 
Legally, you must have dropped kerb. Council are now very keen on ensuring there is proper green drainage, so that part of the scheme may need approval.
Anyone can pave their front garden. A dropped kerb is only required for driving across the public footpath. And yet if you park half on the path and half on the road, the council are not so interested in this aspect of "driving on the footpath" for some reason :rolleyes: but that's for a different thread.

As for "proper green drainage", that is not a requirement. The requirement is that rain water goes into the ground (not public drains), so how this is achieved is up to the homeowner
 
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I go ahead without the driveway but don’t go down the planning permission route
You don't need to go down the planning route.

Driveways are permitted development if you follow the permitted development criteria. Bizarrely, if you don't follow this criteria and apply for permission, it will almost certainly be refused.

The requirement is to direct rainwater into the ground, not specifically to a soakaway
 
That’s the problem I’m facing as to how I would get water into the ground when it is all clay soil and the Driveway would run towards the house that’s why I was thinking to drop a pipe into the combined manhole to take the water thanks
 
Permeable paving will not drain into clay though that’s the problem we have
 
It’s currently soil on top of clay it drains nowhere that’s why I have a garden like a bog
 

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Clay is down to around 1 metre plus so isn’t really an option unfortunately
 
Yes it is, you're effectively creating a large soakaway. As your garden is merely a bog, rather than a pond, it will cope with a few gallons of water.
 
What sort of depth would you recommend digging the clay out to thanks
 
You said something about 1m of clay, does that mean the clay is one metre thick, with something other than clay below it? If so what is below the clay?
 

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