Resin Bound Driveways in Great Linford

Great Linford is one of the old villages that Milton Keynes grew up around. Its centre still has the manor house, the parish church and the park beside the Grand Union Canal, and the surrounding neighbourhood was built mostly in the 1970s and 1980s. That mix shapes what people ask for. Owners close to the old core tend to want a surface that looks settled and natural, while those on the later streets are often replacing a tired concrete or block drive with something smoother and easier to keep clean.

Resin bound can serve both, provided the base is right. A solid tarmac or concrete drive that has not moved can often be cleaned, repaired and used as the base, which keeps the job simpler. A drive with deep cracks, sunken areas or heaving from roots needs to come up so a new permeable base can be built. We will not lay resin over a surface we expect to fail, and we tell you that plainly at the visit.

Being beside the canal and set on ground that can be heavy, parts of Great Linford are slow to drain after prolonged rain. A permeable build helps here because the water goes down through the drive into the ground rather than running off, which can reduce puddling on the drive and at the boundary.

• Natural looks for older properties
• Smooth upgrades for later estate homes
• Permeable bases where ground is heavy

Milton Keynes City Council is the local planning authority. For front gardens, a permeable surface, or one that drains to your own lawn or planting, generally does not need permission; a non-permeable surface over five square metres that drains to the road generally does. The historic village is a conservation area, and if you live within it you should check with the council before altering the frontage.