Drainage first, then the surface · All 32 London boroughs
Paving in London
Driveways, patios, paths and hard landscaping with compliant surface-water drainage.
Rear extension, rendered
Rendered single-storey rear extension with French doors onto a paved patioWhat we do
Front-garden paving in London is governed by surface-water rules: over five square metres of impermeable surface needs planning permission unless the water drains to a permeable area. We design the drainage first and the finish second, which is the order that keeps you compliant.
Included as standard
- Block paving, natural stone and porcelain
- Permeable surfaces and SuDS-compliant drainage
- Driveway excavation, sub-base and edging
- Patios, paths and steps
- Dropped kerb liaison with the borough
- Retaining walls and levelling
- Typical timescale
- 3–10 days
- Coverage
- 32 boroughs
- Payment
- In arrears
- Trading since
- 2008
Surface water rules
Paving a front garden is one of the few landscaping jobs with a planning dimension. Since 2008, laying more than five square metres of impermeable surface in a front garden needs planning permission — unless the surface is permeable, or the water drains to a permeable area within the property rather than to the highway.
That is why the drainage is designed before the finish is chosen. Permeable block paving, a correctly specified sub-base, or a soakaway all keep the work within permitted development; a solid slab draining to the kerb does not.
Where the job includes a new or widened vehicle crossover, that is a separate application to the borough's highways team with its own timetable and cost. It gets applied for early, because it is often the longest lead item on an otherwise short job.
Under the surface, the sub-base does the work. Excavation depth, compaction and edge restraint decide whether the paving is still flat in five years; the blocks on top are the part people choose and the least likely to fail.
The limits above are the national permitted-development rules for England. Your borough may restrict them further through a conservation area or an Article 4 direction — we confirm the position for your address in writing before quoting.
Our work
Paving we have completed
Answers
Paving — common questions
Do I need planning permission for paving in London?
It depends on the property type and what is proposed. Many single-storey rear extensions and loft conversions fall under permitted development, but those rights do not apply to flats and are restricted in conservation areas or where an Article 4 direction applies. We check the planning position for your specific address before quoting, and tell you in writing which route applies.
How do you price the work?
From a site survey, written up as a fixed and itemised scope before any deposit is discussed. If something genuinely unforeseen appears once work is opened up, it is priced and agreed in writing before we continue — never added to the final invoice after the fact.
When do I pay?
In arrears of work completed. You pay for work that has been done and inspected, not for work that has been promised. This has been how the company operates since 2008.
Do you handle Party Wall notices?
Yes, where the work requires them. Under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996, notifiable work on a shared wall needs 2 months written notice to the adjoining owner, while excavation near a neighbouring structure and building at the line of junction need 1 month. We serve the notices and manage the award process as part of the job.
Will I get certificates at the end?
Yes. Electrical work is tested and certificated under Part P, and building control issues a completion certificate where an application was required. You receive the handover pack — it is what a buyer's solicitor will ask for when you eventually sell.
How long will it take?
It depends entirely on scope, and we give a programme with the written quote rather than a guess on the phone. What we will not do is start a job we cannot resource, which is the usual reason a build stalls halfway through.
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A picture and a postcode tells us more than any enquiry form. You will get a straight answer about cost and whether it needs planning permission.