East Yorkshire driveways, built to drain

East Yorkshire looks simple on a map, but the ground changes more than you’d expect. The chalk of the Yorkshire Wolds sweeps in an arc from the Humber up to Flamborough Head, and on it rainwater usually soaks away well. East of the Wolds, Holderness is flat clay country that drains slowly, and much of Hull sits on low land beside the Humber where surface water has nowhere quick to go.

That’s why drainage is the first thing we design, not an extra at the end. On a flat plot we build in falls so water runs off the surface into a border, a soakaway or a channel, and we test the ground before relying on a soakaway. Permeable block paving and resin bound surfaces are often the right answer here, because they let rain pass through instead of adding to the load on the drains.

The housing is just as varied. Hull has long streets of Victorian and Edwardian terraces, the Avenues, Garden Village and large post-war estates. Beverley is a historic market town of Georgian and Victorian brick, while villages such as Cottingham, Kirk Ella and Swanland have big detached houses with long front gardens. On the coast at Bridlington, Hornsea and Withernsea, salt air and strong winds shape what we recommend.

Two councils cover the area. Hull City Council looks after the city itself, and East Riding of Yorkshire Council covers everywhere else, including many places with a Hull postcode such as Hessle, Cottingham and Anlaby. Dropped kerb applications go to whichever council covers your street. Behind the house, a well-drained patio in porcelain or sandstone makes the most of a flat garden, as long as it falls gently away from the walls.