Concrete driveway..

[ray316]

l would like to do a concrete driveway in our garden but l'm sure l have seen somewhere that you cannot do concrete driveways for drainage reasons is this true or have l just imagened this....

If there are no such regs on concrete driveways then l could do with a little bit of advice, the driveway l want to do slops away from our house to the street pavement so if a concrete driveway was done it on a day when it's raining rainwater would stream down onto the pavement...
So how can l prevent this, how or what could l do to improve/stop this happening....

 

[Richard C]

http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/england/public/buildingwork/projects/workcommonpaving/

 

[ray316]

What is permeable concrete, is it similar to ready mixed concrete delivered . Do these readymix companys delivery permeable concrete the same way and is it more expensive...
It say's on the link Richard C sent that.....

If the surface to be covered is more than five square metres planning permission will be needed for laying traditional, impermeable driveways that do not provide for the water to run to a permeable area...

So would l need planning permission if l use permeable concrete as l want the driveway to cover more than five square metres...

Also any ideas on how l can minimize the slop for the driveway...

 

[Richard C]

What is permeable concrete

Permeable concrete is a special type of concrete with a high porosity used for concrete driveways & parking areas allowing water to pass directly through it & not run off onto the highway & end up in the surface water drainage system.

is it similar to ready mixed concrete delivered.

I would have thought so.

Do these readymix companys delivery permeable concrete the same way
and is it more expensive...

Look up your local Redimix company in your yellow pages & phone them up

It say's on the link Richard C sent that.....If the surface to be covered is more than five square metres planning permission will be needed for laying traditional, impermeable driveways that do not provide for the water to run to a permeable area...So would l need planning permission if l use permeable concrete as l want the driveway to cover more than five square metres...

No, not if you use permeable concrete; but you can also use block paving or incorporate a drainage system across the bottom of your drive to divert the surface water into a soakaway.

Here is another link which should help you understand the options;
http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/planningandbuilding/pdf/pavingfrontgardens.pdf

 

[ray316]

Thanks for the info Richard C....
Now if l use a drainage system on a impermeable driveway that covers more than 5 square metres l do not need planning permission... is this correct.

Now if l use a drainage system at the end of the drive, the gutter grate type l thinking of... any ideas how l can get the water to soak away from this as l have no water drainage grates at the bottom of my garden and no grass or green area for water soak away...

What if l used impermeable concrete and at the sides and bottom of the driveway used two rows of block paving would this be ok or would l still need planning permission as the driveway will be 7sq metres..

 

[Richard C]

Now if l use a drainage system on a impermeable driveway that covers more than 5 square metres l do not need planning permission... is this correct.

Correct

Now if l use a drainage system at the end of the drive, the gutter grate type l thinking of... any ideas how l can get the water to soak away from this as l have no water drainage grates at the bottom of my garden and no grass or green area for water soak away...
What if l used impermeable concrete and at the sides and bottom of the driveway used two rows of block paving would this be ok

No that would not provide sufficient drainage. Think about it; there is no way two rows of block paving is going to provide the same drainage for water running off a drive as a gutter/grate feeding a soak away. You have to install a drainage grate & you can’t just direct the water off into a grass area, you must provide a soak away which is basically a big hole with rubble in it. If you’ve no space to provide one then a drainage gutter is of no use to you & you need to use a permeable concrete, block paving or some other self draining medium over the whole the drive area.