Planning Policy
Planning Policy / Planning / Brighton and Hove / Driveway or hard surface

Driveway or hard surface in Brighton and Hove

Do you need planning permission for a driveway in Brighton and Hove? Here is what the permitted development rules say, how Brighton and Hove City Council’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 Brighton and Hove?

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 Brighton and Hove 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 Brighton and Hove

How Brighton and Hove’s designations apply

Designation in Brighton and HovePublished
Conservation areas34
Article 4 directions (PD removed)0
Listed building outlines0

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 Brighton and Hove 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.

Your report

Get a planning report for your Brighton and Hove address

A Planning Policy report reads the designations on your exact Brighton and Hove address, quotes the Brighton and Hove City Council 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 Brighton and Hove, answered

Do I need planning permission for a driveway in Brighton and Hove?
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 Brighton and Hove still depends on your exact address and the designations on it.
Does a conservation area affect a driveway in Brighton and Hove?
It can. Even where the size limits are met, Brighton and Hove City Council assesses the appearance of a driveway against the character of a conservation area, and on a listed building separate consent is required.
How does Brighton and Hove 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 Brighton and Hove City Council Local Plan and national policies that apply, verbatim, and shows decided applications nearby.
6.0: More for Brighton and Hove

Other projects in Brighton and Hove