Driveways and patios for every corner of Leeds

Leeds is a big city with a huge range of homes, and the right driveway in one suburb can be wrong in the next. In Headingley, Roundhay and Chapel Allerton there are large Victorian and Edwardian houses, many of them in conservation areas, with stone gateposts and mature trees. Moortown, Horsforth and Cross Gates are full of 1930s semis whose front gardens were never designed for two cars. Out towards Garforth, Morley and Wetherby you’ll find newer estates with wide, open-plan frontages.

Each needs a different approach. On an older semi, the job is usually turning a lawn and a narrow path into a level, well-drained parking area without making the house look like a car park. Block paving in Leeds works well here, because a border and a change of colour can frame the house and the planting. On larger plots with trees nearby, a resin bound driveway laid on a permeable base lets water reach the roots and avoids puddles.

Ground conditions change across the city too. Heavy clay that holds water is common, but the soil can change from one street to the next, so we check how yours behaves before deciding where the water goes. Since 2008, a new front drive over five square metres has to be permeable or drain into the garden unless you have planning permission. Our guide to driveway planning permission explains how that works in plain English.

If you need a new or wider dropped kerb, that’s a separate approval from Leeds City Council as the highway authority. We don’t build dropped kerbs, but we’ll measure up, tell you what the council generally looks for and plan the drive so it lines up with the crossing. On busy roads we also plan skip and delivery times so the job causes as little disruption as possible. Leeds is the largest part of our West Yorkshire area, and we cover the towns around it too.