Built for Poole’s ground
Poole sits on a mix of free-draining sands and pockets of clay. Sand lets water soak away. Clay holds it, and a driveway laid over clay without the right base and drainage will pond, settle and crack.
We check the ground at the site visit and set the depth of the dig, the sub-base and the drainage to match. In low-lying spots near the harbour, where water clears more slowly, we plan the falls to carry rainwater away from the house.
Driveway surfaces for Poole homes
Resin-bound driveways
A smooth, natural-stone finish that suits period and modern homes alike. Laid over a porous base, it lets rainwater drain straight through, so it usually meets the front-garden drainage rules without extra gullies.
Tarmac driveways
A hard-wearing, cost-effective surface for larger drives and for homes with vans or heavier vehicles. We lay it in two courses over a compacted sub-base and finish it with neat, firm edgings.
Block paving
The widest choice of colours, patterns and borders. Permeable block paving lets water through the joints into the sub-base, which helps on plots where drainage is tight.
Concrete driveways
A reinforced concrete slab for tough, low-maintenance driveways, parking bays and hardstandings, poured, finished and cured by our own team.
Planning, drainage and dropped kerbs in Poole
In England, a new or replacement front driveway doesn’t need planning permission if it’s permeable or drains onto a lawn or border on your property. A non-permeable surface of more than five square metres that drains onto the road does. Listed buildings and some conservation areas have extra controls, so check with BCP Council if either applies to your home.
A new or wider dropped kerb also needs BCP Council’s approval, as the highway authority for Poole, before any work on the pavement starts.
How we work
- Visit and advice. We look at the levels, access, drainage and ground, and talk through surfaces and costs.
- Written quote. A clear scope covering the dig-out, sub-base, edgings, drainage and surface.
- Dig and base. We take the old surface out, excavate to firm ground and compact the sub-base in layers.
- Edgings and drainage. Kerbs, edgings, channels and soakaways go in before the surface.
- Surface and tidy. The new surface is laid and the site is left clean.
A Poole company, working in Poole
Our yard is at Cortry Close in Poole, so your driveway is built by a local team. Nearby, we built the brick and blockwork for three new homes on Langdon Road in Parkstone with Addis Homes, and we’ve been delivering deep drainage at Alderney Water Treatment Works since 2024.
Much of our work is commercial, for clients including Lidl, EG Group and the Ministry of Defence. The same crews and plant build your driveway.
Proudly Partnering With
Poole driveway questions
Do you cover all of Poole?
Yes, from Hamworthy, Oakdale and Canford Heath to Parkstone, Broadstone, Lilliput and Sandbanks. We also lay driveways in Bournemouth and across the rest of Dorset.
Will a new driveway work on clay ground?
Yes, with the right base and drainage. Water won’t soak away into clay the way it does into sand, so we allow for a deeper sub-base and either a permeable surface over a drainage layer or channels that take the water to a suitable outfall.
Which surfaces are permeable?
Resin-bound surfacing over a porous base and permeable block paving both let rainwater through. Standard tarmac, concrete and ordinary block paving don’t, so they need falls that send the water to a border, a soakaway or a drain.
Can you widen or extend my existing driveway?
Yes. We can extend a driveway and match or replace the surface. If a wider driveway needs a longer dropped kerb, BCP Council has to approve that part first.
How much does a new driveway cost?
It depends on the size, the surface, how much has to be dug out and the drainage your plot needs. We give you a written quote after the site visit, with prices for the surfaces you’re considering.