The front lawn is a muddy patch where the car sits half on the grass, and every winter it gets worse. So you want a proper driveway. It’s a good call. The catch is a rule that surprises a lot of people in Andover, Newbury and Basingstoke: if the surface you’re covering is more than five square metres and the water can’t drain away naturally, you need planning permission.
The Planning Portal sets it out plainly. Permeable surfacing such as gravel, permeable block paving or porous asphalt doesn’t need permission, and neither does a traditional impermeable surface if the rainwater is directed to a lawn or border. Fall it the wrong way, towards the road or the house, and you’ve got a problem. The permitted development rules cover houses, and a dropped kerb on Weyhill Road is a separate application to the highway authority altogether.
From a laying point of view, what lasts is what’s underneath. For a domestic drive that usually means 150mm of compacted Type 1 sub-base on a geotextile membrane, then a 40mm layer of sharp sand under 60mm blocks, with edge restraints haunched in concrete so the whole thing can’t creep. Permeable block paving swaps the sand for 2-6mm grit and uses wider joints, and the sub-base gets bigger to hold the water. Resin bound goes on a porous base, which is why it’s popular in the newer streets of Charlton and Anna Valley.
Tarmac isn’t off the table. Porous asphalt qualifies, and standard tarmac drives work if the drainage plan is right. A good gang will tell you which is which before the digger turns up.
Test Valley Paving is a family business laying block paving, tarmac and resin drives across Andover, Newbury and Basingstoke, and they’ll look at your levels and drainage first. Take a look at https://testvalleypaving.co.uk/ or ring for a free quote.