Driveways in Knowle
Knowle has kept its village centre: a High Street of timber-framed and listed buildings, a green and a medieval church, with twentieth century housing spreading out behind it. Driveway work here splits two ways. Period frontages that need materials in keeping, and post-war closes where the original concrete or tarmac has had its day.
About Knowle
The Knowle conservation area was designated in 1968 and has been extended since, covering the High Street and parts of Warwick Road, Kenilworth Road, Station Road and Lodge Road, with a lot of listed buildings inside it. On those frontages we stay with clay pavers, stone setts or gravel rather than anything that argues with old brick and timber, and we check what is permitted with the council before we lift a slab. Behind the historic core the stock is mostly detached and semi-detached housing from the 1930s onwards, with wider frontages and room for a turning area. A lot of those drives are still on their first sub-base, laid when a family ran one small car rather than two large ones.
Weather and drainage
Knowle sits on clay like most of the borough, and clay swells in the wet and shrinks in a dry summer. That is why we dig to a real depth and compact the stone in layers instead of skimming a thin base over soft ground. Mature trees line many of the older frontages, and they do two things to a drive: roots lift the edges, and the shade keeps the surface damp enough for moss to take hold.
Knowle postcodes we cover
B93.
Planning and dropped kerbs in Knowle
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 Knowle
- 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 Knowle
Free site visit, measured up, fixed price in writing.