Planning Policy
Planning Policy / Planning / Havering / Driveway or hard surface

Driveway or hard surface in Havering

Do you need planning permission for a driveway in Havering? Here is what the permitted development rules say, how London Borough of Havering’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 Havering?

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 Havering 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 Havering

How Havering’s designations apply

Designation in HaveringPublished
Conservation areas11
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 Havering 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 Havering 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 Havering address

A Planning Policy report reads the designations on your exact Havering address, quotes the London Borough of Havering 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 Havering, answered

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

Other projects in Havering