Planning Policy
Planning Policy / Planning / Barking and Dagenham / Driveway or hard surface

Driveway or hard surface in Barking and Dagenham

Do you need planning permission for a driveway in Barking and Dagenham? Here is what the permitted development rules say, how London Borough of Barking and Dagenham’s designations change them, and what decides an application, grounded in the official guidance and quoted verbatim.

Paved driveway and frontage of a residential house
Driveway: permeable surfaces changed the rules for front gardens
The short answer

Do you need planning permission for a driveway in Barking and Dagenham?

Replacing a driveway is permitted development under Class F where the surface is porous, or where rainwater drains to a permeable area within the property rather than to the highway. Whether a driveway needs permission in Barking and Dagenham still depends on your exact address and the designations on it.

1.0: The permitted development position

The starting point

Replacing a driveway is permitted development under Class F where the surface is porous, or where rainwater drains to a permeable area within the property rather than to the highway.

“This provides permitted development rights within the curtilage of a house for - (a) the provision of a hard surface for any purpose incidental to the enjoyment of the dwellinghouse as such”PD technical guidance, Class F · full text in the library → · official source →
2.0: What changes it in Barking and Dagenham

How Barking and Dagenham’s designations apply

Designation in Barking and DagenhamPublished
Conservation areas4
Article 4 directions (PD removed)3
Listed building outlines48

A non-permeable surface over five square metres draining to the road needs permission; a dropped kerb for vehicle access is a separate highways consent. Counts are read live from planning.data.gov.uk; your report checks them against your exact address.

3.0: How it’s decided

What Barking and Dagenham weighs

A non-permeable surface over five square metres draining to the road needs permission; a dropped kerb for vehicle access is a separate highways consent.

As a London borough, London Borough of Barking and Dagenham also decides against the London Plan 2021 (the strategic policy layer for all 33 boroughs), alongside national policy and its own Local Plan.

Your report

Get a planning report for your Barking and Dagenham address

A Planning Policy report reads the designations on your exact Barking and Dagenham address, quotes the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham and national policies that apply to a driveway, and (on Pro) shows decided applications nearby with outcomes.

5.0: Questions

Driveway or hard surface in Barking and Dagenham, answered

Do I need planning permission for a driveway in Barking and Dagenham?
Replacing a driveway is permitted development under Class F where the surface is porous, or where rainwater drains to a permeable area within the property rather than to the highway. Whether a driveway needs permission in Barking and Dagenham still depends on your exact address and the designations on it.
Does a conservation area affect a driveway in Barking and Dagenham?
It can. Even where the size limits are met, London Borough of Barking and Dagenham assesses the appearance of a driveway against the character of a conservation area, and on a listed building separate consent is required.
How does Barking and Dagenham decide a driveway or hard surface application?
A non-permeable surface over five square metres draining to the road needs permission; a dropped kerb for vehicle access is a separate highways consent. A Planning Policy report quotes the specific London Borough of Barking and Dagenham Local Plan and national policies that apply, verbatim, and shows decided applications nearby.
6.0: More for Barking and Dagenham

Other projects in Barking and Dagenham