Driveways in Sutton Coldfield

Driveways on Sutton Coldfield housing

Around Four Oaks, Mere Green, Little Aston and Streetly the plots are large and the drives are long, often with an in-and-out layout, gate pillars, a turning area and lighting. On that scale the surface is the last decision. The first is the levels and the water: a big impermeable area sheds a lot of rain, the highway authority and the drainage rules care where it goes, and a permeable build-up with a designed outfall is usually what keeps the whole thing lawful without an application. We set out the falls, the edge restraints and any channel drains on the survey before we talk about colours.

Then the details that make a large drive look finished rather than just large: a contrasting block or setts border to hold the edge, a change of material at the parking bays or the gates, kerbs that meet the lawn cleanly, ducting laid for lighting and gate automation before anything is surfaced so nothing has to be cut later. Gates and pillars themselves can be rebuilt or matched as part of the job. Where an existing gravel drive has spread into the lawn and the road, resin bound in a similar tone keeps the appearance and stops the migration for good. A new or wider crossover is an application to Birmingham City Council as the highway authority, and parts of the Four Oaks estate carry covenants on appearance that we check first.

What we are asked for here

• Long and in-and-out drives with falls and outfalls designed for the area
• Ducting for lighting and gate automation laid before surfacing
• Gate pillars, walls and borders rebuilt or matched as part of the job
• Gravel-to-resin conversions on large plots