In short
- In England, more than 5 square metres of new or replacement hard surfacing between the front of a house and a road needs planning permission unless it is porous or drains to a permeable area within the property.
- A permeable resin-bound drive on a permeable base, or a drive that drains to a lawn or border, is usually permitted development, but listed buildings, Article 4 directions and planning conditions can change that.
- A dropped kerb needs approval from the highway authority: Kent County Council across most of Kent, and Medway Council in Medway.
- Both authorities publish minimum parking space sizes, typically 2.4 metres wide by 4.8 metres deep for a car parked at right angles to the road, so a car doesn't overhang the footway.
- On a classified A, B or C road, planning permission is generally needed for a new access as well as highway approval.
The 5 square metre rule for front gardens in England
Since 1 October 2008, householder permitted development rights in England have controlled how front gardens can be paved. The rule sits in Class F of the General Permitted Development Order, which covers hard surfaces around a house, and the government's technical guidance explains it.
- It applies to hard surfaces between a wall forming the principal elevation of the house, usually the front, and a highway.
- If the new surface, or the area of surface being replaced, is more than 5 square metres, it must either be made of porous materials or be arranged so that rainwater runs to a permeable or porous area within the property.
- If it meets those conditions, it is permitted development and no planning application is needed.
- If it doesn't, for example a large impermeable concrete or tarmac drive that drains straight to the road, you need planning permission.
- The rule covers replacement as well as new surfaces, so relaying an old impermeable drive with another impermeable surface can need permission too.
The GOV.UK guidance on permeable surfacing of front gardens puts it simply: a new or replacement driveway of any size that uses permeable surfacing, or directs water to a lawn or border to drain naturally, doesn't need planning permission. Side and back gardens aren't covered by this condition, though other rules can apply to them.
What counts as permeable, and where resin fits
The GOV.UK guidance gives gravel, permeable block paving, porous asphalt and porous concrete as examples of permeable surfacing, and also describes directing water from an impermeable surface to a rain garden, border or soakaway. Resin-bound surfacing isn't named in that 2008 guidance, but it is porous, so it works in the same way as the examples when it is laid on a permeable base.
- Resin-bound on a new open-graded sub-base and porous binder course is generally treated as a permeable surface.
- Resin-bound laid over existing impermeable tarmac or concrete drains across the top rather than into the ground, so water needs to reach a permeable area, such as a border, lawn or soakaway, within your property.
- Resin-bonded surfaces are generally impermeable, so the same applies: plan where the run-off will go.
- Open-graded sub-base materials, such as Type 3 or 4/20, have voids that let water pass and be stored. Standard Type 1 sub-base contains fines that slow drainage.
The guidance suggests a simple check once a permeable drive is finished: run a hosepipe onto it for a minute or two, and the water should soak in without puddling.
Listed buildings, conservation areas and Article 4 directions
The 5 square metre rule is only the starting point. Several other things can mean you need consent even for a permeable drive.
- Listed buildings: works that affect the character of a listed building or its setting may need listed building consent, and boundary walls, railings and historic paths can be part of the listing. Speak to the council's conservation officer first.
- Conservation areas: Class F isn't automatically removed in conservation areas, but councils can use Article 4 directions to remove rights for front gardens, boundary walls and hardstandings. Kent has many conservation areas, from Rochester, Faversham and Deal to Tenterden and central Tunbridge Wells.
- Removing a front wall: demolishing a boundary wall or railings to make an opening can need consent in a conservation area or where Article 4 applies.
- Planning conditions: some newer estates have conditions that remove permitted development rights or require front gardens to stay open or landscaped.
- Changing levels: Medway Council's guidance notes that digging out or raising land by 300 millimetres or more can count as engineering works that need planning permission.
For written confirmation that your drive is permitted development, you can apply to your council for a lawful development certificate. Medway Council's guidance recommends one for a new hardstanding, as buyers' solicitors often ask about driveway permissions.
Dropped kerbs: Kent County Council or Medway Council
A dropped kerb, also called a vehicle crossing or crossover, lowers the kerb and strengthens the footway so vehicles can cross it safely. The footway stays public highway. Approval comes from the highway authority, which is not your district council.
| Where you live | Highway authority | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Dartford, Gravesham, Sevenoaks, Tonbridge and Malling, Tunbridge Wells, Maidstone, Ashford, Canterbury, Thanet, Folkestone and Hythe, Dover, and Swale | Kent County Council | You apply online to KCC. If planning permission is needed, KCC asks for evidence of the district council's decision, and district planning approval doesn't count as highway approval. |
| Rochester, Strood, Chatham, Gillingham, Rainham, Walderslade, Hoo and the rest of Medway | Medway Council | Medway is a unitary council, so it handles both planning and highways. Applicants must have a Medway address. |
| Private and unadopted roads | The landowner | Some new estate roads aren't yet adopted. Permission comes from the landowner or developer, so check before you apply. |
Both authorities ask you to self-assess against their criteria first, and neither fully refunds the fee if the application fails. The crossing itself must be built by the council's contractor or one on its approved list, at your cost. Kent County Council's guidance says an approval notice is valid for up to 2 years. Medway's guidance says a crossing larger than 5.6 metres won't be permitted.
Space, junctions and visibility: what highway officers check
The most common reason for refusal is a front garden that is too small to park in without part of the car overhanging the pavement. Both authorities publish minimum sizes, and they are worth measuring before you plan a resin drive around a new crossing.
| Check | Kent County Council (guidance v9, May 2023) | Medway Council (guidance, April 2025) |
|---|---|---|
| Parking at right angles to the road | At least 2.4 metres wide by 4.8 metres deep | At least 2.4 metres wide by 4.8 metres deep, measured from the back of the footway or boundary to the front of the building |
| Parking in front of a garage or door | At least 2.4 metres wide by 6 metres deep | At least 6 metres deep |
| Parking parallel to the road | Assessed individually, with a minimum frontage of 6 metres | At least 5.6 metres wide by 2.6 metres deep |
| Distance from a junction | Refused if closer than 10 metres and it creates a hazard; may be 15 metres on major roads | 10 metres, possibly 15 metres on a major road or busy junction |
| Streetlights and street furniture | A streetlight or lit sign within 0.5 metres may need an engineer's assessment, and it may not be possible to move it | A streetlight or nameplate within 1 metre is assessed for relocation at your cost; if it can't be moved, the application can't be approved |
- Porches, steps and bay windows reduce the usable depth, so measure from the face of the building or projection.
- Trees in the footway, utility covers, parking bays, bus stops and pedestrian crossing points can all prevent or complicate a crossing.
- Visibility splays may be needed so drivers can see pedestrians, which can mean lowering a front wall or hedge.
- KCC's guidance says gates shouldn't open outwards over the highway.
Planning permission for a new access on a classified road
Highway approval and planning permission are separate. Even where your drive itself is permitted development, the new access may need planning permission.
- Classified roads: the district councils, including Sevenoaks and Gravesham, explain that if your property is on a classified A, B or C road, planning permission is needed for a new access or driveway. Medway's guidance says the same, and adds that extending an existing access on a classified road also needs it.
- Unclassified roads: Sevenoaks District Council's guidance says planning permission isn't needed for the access itself on an unclassified or private road, though the driveway still has to meet the hard surfacing rules.
- Finding your road's classification: KCC's guidance points to the Find My Street service, and your council can confirm it.
- Amenity land: Medway's guidance says some grass verges between the footway and your boundary are amenity land, which needs a planning application to change to vehicle access.
If planning permission is needed, KCC and Medway both expect you to get it first and then apply for the crossing. Allow for the planning decision period, usually 8 weeks for a householder application once validated, on top of the highway process.
Driving over the pavement without a dropped kerb
Driving across a raised kerb and footway to park in a front garden isn't allowed without an approved crossing. Footways aren't built to carry vehicles, and the services buried beneath them can be damaged over time.
- The Planning Portal says that if you drive over a pavement to reach a driveway, you need a dropped kerb, and that it is illegal to do so without one.
- Medway Council's guidance says crossing the footway without a vehicle crossing is illegal, and refers to section 184 of the Highways Act 1980.
- Section 184 gives highway authorities powers where people regularly drive across a kerbed footway or verge: they can serve notice to build a proper crossing and recover the cost, or impose conditions on how it is used.
- Separately, section 72 of the Highway Act 1835 makes it an offence to wilfully drive a vehicle on a footway set aside for pedestrians.
Kerb ramps or wedges placed in the road aren't a substitute for an approved crossing.
Keeping water off the highway
Both Kent highway authorities make drainage a condition. KCC's guidance says the parking area must be built so water doesn't drain from it across the highway, and suitable drainage must be provided within your property. Medway's guidance says the same, and that surface water shouldn't be discharged from a driveway across the public highway.
- A permeable resin-bound drive on a permeable base deals with most rainfall where it falls.
- Where the drive slopes towards the road, a drainage channel just inside your boundary can catch water and send it to a soakaway or permeable area.
- Water shouldn't be piped into highway gullies without the highway authority's agreement.
- Connecting to a public sewer needs the sewerage company's consent, which in most of Kent is Southern Water and in parts of north-west Kent is Thames Water.
- GOV.UK guidance advises keeping soakaways and rain gardens away from foundations, suggesting at least 3 metres for small drives, depending on ground conditions.
Chalk, clay and flood risk across Kent
How well a permeable drive drains depends on the ground under it. Kent's geology changes over short distances, so treat these as broad patterns and ask your installer to check your plot.
- Chalk: much of the Kent Downs, Thanet and the area around Dover sits on chalk, which often drains freely. Water can still pond where chalk is overlain by clay-with-flints or where the ground has been made up.
- Clay: the Weald Clay of the Low Weald, around Tonbridge, Paddock Wood and Headcorn, and the London Clay along the north Kent coast, including Sheppey and parts of Herne Bay and Whitstable, drain slowly. A permeable surface still helps, but a pipe or overflow from the sub-base may be needed.
- Romney Marsh and other low-lying land: around New Romney, Dymchurch and Lydd, the water table can be high and much of the land is within flood risk areas, so infiltration may be limited and drainage designs need more care.
- Floodplains: parts of towns along the Medway, Stour and Darent are at risk of river flooding.
You can check the long-term flood risk for your postcode on GOV.UK, and the British Geological Survey's free geology viewer shows the rocks and soils under your area. On sites with a known flood or drainage issue, ask installers how their design deals with it.
Get quotes from local resin installers
When you're ready, describe your project once and we'll pass it to vetted resin installers who cover your part of Kent. They quote you directly, and nothing is booked until you accept.
Sources
- GOV.UK: Permeable surfacing of front gardens, guidance: www.gov.uk/government/publications/permeable-surfacing-of-front-gardens-guidance
- GOV.UK: Permitted development rights for householders, technical guidance (Class F hard surfaces): www.gov.uk/government/publications/permitted-development-rights-for-householders-technical-guidance/permitted-development-rights-for-householders-technical-guidance
- Planning Portal: Paving your front garden, planning permission: www.planningportal.co.uk/permission/common-projects/paving-your-front-garden/planning-permission
- Kent County Council: Residential dropped kerb guidance and self-assessment (v9, May 2023, as circulated to KCC Scrutiny Committee, November 2023): democracy.kent.gov.uk/documents/b24318/Dropped%20Kerb%20Application%20Guidance%2001st-Nov-2023%2010.00%20Scrutiny%20Committee.pdf?T=9
- Kent County Council: Apply for a dropped kerb, extension or access point: www.kent.gov.uk/roads-and-travel/highway-permits-and-licences/apply-for-a-dropped-kerb-extension-or-access-point
- Medway Council: Apply to install or extend a dropped kerb: www.medway.gov.uk/info/200136/parking_roads_travel/476/dropped_kerbs/3
- Medway Council: Vehicle crossing guidance and self-assessment (April 2025): www.medway.gov.uk/download/downloads/id/8053/vehicle_crossingdropped_kerb_guidance_notes.pdf
- Sevenoaks District Council: Dropped kerbs advice for householders: www.sevenoaks.gov.uk/info/20007/parking_and_transport/467/dropped_kerbs_advice_for_householders
- Gravesham Borough Council: Dropped kerbs and vehicle crossovers: www.gravesham.gov.uk/streets-open-spaces/dropped-kerbs
- legislation.gov.uk: Highways Act 1980, section 184: www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1980/66/section/184
- legislation.gov.uk: Highway Act 1835, section 72: www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Will4/5-6/50/section/72
- GOV.UK: Check your long term flood risk: www.gov.uk/check-long-term-flood-risk
- British Geological Survey: Geology Viewer: www.bgs.ac.uk/map-viewers/bgs-geology-viewer/