Do you need planning permission for a driveway in Twickenham?
Usually no, if the water stays on your land. But Twickenham sits in the most conservation-dense borough in London, so it is worth two minutes of checking.
It comes down to where the rain goes
For most Twickenham homes, paving a front garden does not need planning permission, provided the rainwater does not end up on the public highway.
Nationally, permitted development allows a new or replacement driveway of any size without an application if it is built in a permeable surface, or if the runoff is directed to a lawn, border or soakaway inside your own boundary. Permission is only needed when you lay more than five square metres of impermeable surfacing that drains onto the road.
So the practical question is not “how big is my driveway”. It is “where does the water go”.
Four questions, in order
Is the surface permeable?
Permeable block paving, gravel or porous asphalt. If yes, you are almost certainly within permitted development on the surfacing question, whatever the area. Move to question three.
If not, where does the water go?
If runoff from an impermeable surface is taken to a lawn, border or soakaway within your boundary, you are still within permitted development. If it runs onto the footway or into the gutter and the area exceeds five square metres, you need permission.
Is there a designation on your property?
A conservation area, an Article 4 direction, a Building of Townscape Merit, or a listing. Any of these narrows permitted development rights, and Richmond upon Thames has a great many of them. This is where Twickenham differs from most places.
Are you on a classified road?
A new access onto an A, B or C road needs planning permission regardless of surfacing. TfL red routes are managed separately by Transport for London. This is about the access, not the paving.
Permission is likely if…
- You are in a conservation area or under an Article 4 direction
- Your house is listed or a Building of Townscape Merit
- You are creating a new access onto a classified road
- You are laying over 5m² of impermeable surfacing draining to the highway
- You are building a front wall or gates over one metre high
Probably not needed if…
- The driveway is permeable
- Runoff is taken to a soakaway or planting inside your boundary
- There are no designations on the property
- You already have a crossover and are not altering the access
Nothing on this page is a substitute for checking with Richmond upon Thames about your specific address. Designations follow individual streets and occasionally individual houses. The council’s planning team will confirm what applies to you, and it is a free question to ask.
Conservation areas change the answer more often here
Richmond upon Thames has 86 conservation areas, more than any other London borough. Twickenham has several of its own, including Twickenham Green, Twickenham Riverside, Queen’s Road and Trafalgar Road, with Richmond Road covering part of East Twickenham.
Inside one, two things change. Permitted development rights are narrower, so work that would be automatic elsewhere may need an application. And the council takes a considered view of what the frontage looks like, not just how it drains.
In practice that means the front boundary wall is often the sensitive element rather than the paving. On streets where the rhythm of low walls and piers is part of the character, removing one entirely to create a driveway is the change most likely to attract a refusal. Taking out a section for the crossover and rebuilding the ends into proper piers usually reads far better, both to the council and from the pavement.
Material choice matters more too. A clay paver or a natural stone sett often sits more comfortably on a period frontage than a modern concrete block, and where a conservation area appraisal describes the traditional surfacing of the street, that is worth reading before choosing.
Planning permission is not the same as a dropped kerb
These are two separate consents from two different parts of the council, and needing one does not mean you need the other.
Planning permission is about what you do on your own land: the surfacing, the drainage, the boundary treatment.
A vehicle crossover is about crossing the public footway, and it is a highways matter. It has its own application, its own charges and its own conditions, including a requirement that the hard standing be permeable and that at least ten per cent of the front garden stays soft.
You can need one, both, or neither. If you are creating a driveway where there is currently no dropped kerb, you will certainly need the crossover.
Planning questions
Is five square metres really the threshold?
Yes, but it is widely misread. The five square metre figure only bites if the surface is impermeable and the water runs off onto the highway. Both conditions have to be true.
Pave a hundred square metres in permeable block and you are still within permitted development. Pave six square metres in impermeable slabs falling straight into the gutter and you are not.
How do I find out if I am in a conservation area?
Richmond upon Thames publishes conservation area maps and appraisals on its website, and the planning search will tell you what designations apply to your address. It is worth checking rather than assuming, because the boundaries follow individual streets and sometimes stop halfway along one.
The borough has 86 conservation areas, more than any other in London. In Twickenham these include Twickenham Green and Twickenham Riverside, among others.
Does gravel count as permeable?
Yes, loose gravel is permeable and is explicitly listed among acceptable materials. The practical difficulty is that gravel migrates, particularly on any slope and particularly across a crossover, and it needs edging and periodic topping up.
Permeable block paving gives you the same drainage outcome with a stable surface, which is why most people who start out thinking about gravel end up choosing it.
What if I just replace like for like?
Replacement counts the same as new. The rules refer to a new or replacement driveway, so taking up an old impermeable surface and putting down another one falls under the same test.
In practice this catches people replacing a tired concrete drive with slabs. If it drains to the road and it is over five square metres, that needs permission whether or not something was there before.
Who is responsible if it is done without permission?
The homeowner. Not the contractor. Enforcement action, if it comes, comes to you, and it can require the surface to be taken up.
This is worth knowing because a contractor who tells you not to worry about it has no exposure to the consequences. Any reputable firm will raise it with you before starting, and we will.
Not sure what applies to your frontage?
Tell us your road and what you are hoping to do. We deal with Richmond upon Thames frontages constantly and can usually tell you where you stand before you spend anything.
We normally reply within 24 hours.