New Driveways in Kents Hill

Kents Hill was built as part of the later growth of Milton Keynes, so many drives here were laid by the original developer and have now done thirty years or more of daily use. Some were built for one small car and now serve two larger ones. Others share a turning head or a narrow access with neighbours. Before we suggest any surface, we look at how the space actually gets used and whether the layout itself should change.

Garages tell part of the story. On many estate homes the garage is too narrow for a modern car and has become storage, which pushes every vehicle onto the drive and the road. Planning the new driveway around that reality, rather than the original drawings, is usually the better approach.

Widening is a common request. Taking in part of an open lawn can create a second bay, but on open plan frontages the developer's original deeds or a management arrangement may have something to say about it, so it is worth checking your title documents before work starts. Where the existing dropped kerb is not wide enough for the new layout, an extension to the crossing needs approval from Milton Keynes City Council, which manages vehicle crossings across the city.

The survey on an estate plot tends to focus on what was put in when the houses were built. Shared drains, inspection chambers serving more than one house, street lighting cables near the boundary and the kerb line of the close all shape where the new edge can go. We take levels across the whole frontage so the finished drive meets the footway, the garage and your neighbour's surface without steps or ponding.

• Original base: checked for soft spots and sinking before deciding whether it comes out.
• Shared features: chambers and boundaries agreed with you, and neighbours told where needed.
• Layout: bays sized for modern cars, with space to open doors and reach the front step.
• EV readiness: a duct run to the house wall laid while the ground is open.

Water needs a plan as well. A permeable surface, or one that drains onto a planted bed or soakaway inside your plot, is normally allowed without an application. A solid one larger than five square metres sending rain into the close usually needs planning permission. We design the falls to suit the rule and to keep water away from garage doors, which on some estates sit lower than the road.