Block Paving in Eaton Socon

Eaton Socon has an older heart around its village green, with period houses, cottages and long established gardens, and newer roads of family homes around it. For the older properties in particular, the material you choose for a drive has a strong effect on how the house looks from the street. Block paving offers a range of finishes that can respect that character better than a flat, uniform surface.

One choice worth knowing about is clay pavers. Unlike concrete blocks, which take their colour from added pigment, clay pavers are fired like bricks and keep their colour through the body of the block. They tend to weather gracefully and suit red brick homes well. Concrete blocks are more widely available and come in many textures, including tumbled and tegula styles that imitate older surfaces. We can bring examples of both so you can compare.

A sound base for any finish. Whatever the block, the work underneath follows the same principles. We dig out to a depth that suits the ground and the traffic, lay and compact a crushed stone sub-base, screed a sand bed and lay the blocks to falls. Kerbs or edge blocks set in concrete then hold everything in place.

Older plots often have mature trees, old walls and uneven levels. We take care around roots and wall foundations and adjust the layout to avoid undermining them. Where a tree is protected, we may need to agree a careful method before digging nearby.

Eaton Socon is in Huntingdonshire, so planning questions go to Huntingdonshire District Council. Homes around the green fall within a conservation area, and changes to frontages there can be controlled more tightly than elsewhere. If your home may be affected, check with the council before choosing a design. Elsewhere, the usual rule applies: permeable block paving or drainage into the garden normally avoids the need for permission.