Driveways in Dorridge
Dorridge grew around its station after the railway arrived in 1852, and it still works as a commuter village. Plots are generous and parking is nearly always off-street, so the drives are long. Most of what we do here is a full rebuild rather than a patch.
About Dorridge
Building took off in the late Victorian years with detached houses, semi-detached villas and terraces near the station, then spread again between the wars. The later twentieth century added large detached homes on deep plots, which is why so many Dorridge drives run twenty metres or more from the gate to the garage. Length changes the job: falls, edge restraint and drainage have to be set out from the start, or water collects halfway down and works the surface loose. The Station Approach conservation area covers the older centre, so anything visible from the street there gets a material that suits the setting and a check on what is allowed.
Weather and drainage
A long drive on clay has a lot of water to shift and nowhere quick for it to go. We set crossfalls and put in channel drains or permeable joints so run-off never reaches the highway, which is also what keeps the drive inside permitted development. Frost finds any stretch of sub-base that was laid thin, and on a drive this size it shows up as dips in the wheel tracks.
Dorridge postcodes we cover
B93.
Planning and dropped kerbs in Dorridge
Permission is only needed for a new front driveway over five square metres that uses a hard, non-permeable surface and drains onto the road. Choose a permeable finish, or send the water to a border, and no permission is needed at any size. A new vehicle crossing over the footpath is a separate application to Solihull council, and it takes weeks rather than days, so start it early. More detail is in our guide to driveway planning permission.
What we lay in Dorridge
- Fixed written quotes Priced by the square metre, in writing, before anyone lifts a spade.
- No cold calling, ever We do not knock doors and we never turn up with spare tarmac.
- Insured local installers Public liability cover on every job. Ask and we send the certificate.
Get a price in Dorridge
Free site visit, measured up, fixed price in writing.