Question 1

Can I get a driveway on a terraced street?

Accepted Answer

Often not at the front, and it is better to know that early. The silk-era terraces in and around the centre are built hard up against the pavement edge, so there is no private frontage to pave and nowhere for a dropped kerb to lead. Where there is a rear yard or a back entry, that is usually where the possibility lies. The Macclesfield Character Assessment describes the town's silk-era workers' cottages and three-storey weavers' garrets as built hard up against the pavement edge — which is exactly the situation that rules out a front driveway. A crossover has to lead somewhere, and where the front door opens onto the footway there is nothing behind it to park on. Cheshire East will not grant a crossover to a doorstep. Where a terrace does have a small front garden, the question becomes whether what remains after paving is actually usable. A car needs somewhere between four and five metres of depth to sit clear of the footway, and a vehicle overhanging the pavement is both an obstruction and a reason for a crossover application to be refused. Measuring honestly before designing anything saves a wasted application. Rear access is where the real possibility usually sits. Many terraces here have back yards reached by a shared entry or a rear lane, and a hardstanding there can be entirely practical. The complications are ownership and rights of way over the entry, the width available for turning, and whether the surface of the shared lane can take the traffic — none of which is insurmountable but all of which needs establishing before work. Two things to check with the shared entry. Who owns it and who has rights over it, which is a deeds question rather than a driveway one. And the drainage: since 1 October 2011 shared drains and sewers transferred to the water company, so the gullies and runs in a shared entry are very often United Utilities' rather than any individual householder's. The conservation area position adds another layer in the centre. Much of the older town sits within a conservation area, and the Article 4(2) directions at Christ Church and High Street remove permitted development rights outright — so even where physical space exists, forming a hardstanding may need a planning application. It is worth a conversation with Cheshire East planning before spending anything.

Question 2

Off-street parking for a terraced house

Accepted Answer

Often not at the front, and it is better to know that early. The silk-era terraces in and around the centre are built hard up against the pavement edge, so there is no private frontage to pave and nowhere for a dropped kerb to lead. Where there is a rear yard or a back entry, that is usually where the possibility lies. The Macclesfield Character Assessment describes the town's silk-era workers' cottages and three-storey weavers' garrets as built hard up against the pavement edge — which is exactly the situation that rules out a front driveway. A crossover has to lead somewhere, and where the front door opens onto the footway there is nothing behind it to park on. Cheshire East will not grant a crossover to a doorstep. Where a terrace does have a small front garden, the question becomes whether what remains after paving is actually usable. A car needs somewhere between four and five metres of depth to sit clear of the footway, and a vehicle overhanging the pavement is both an obstruction and a reason for a crossover application to be refused. Measuring honestly before designing anything saves a wasted application. Rear access is where the real possibility usually sits. Many terraces here have back yards reached by a shared entry or a rear lane, and a hardstanding there can be entirely practical. The complications are ownership and rights of way over the entry, the width available for turning, and whether the surface of the shared lane can take the traffic — none of which is insurmountable but all of which needs establishing before work. Two things to check with the shared entry. Who owns it and who has rights over it, which is a deeds question rather than a driveway one. And the drainage: since 1 October 2011 shared drains and sewers transferred to the water company, so the gullies and runs in a shared entry are very often United Utilities' rather than any individual householder's. The conservation area position adds another layer in the centre. Much of the older town sits within a conservation area, and the Article 4(2) directions at Christ Church and High Street remove permitted development rights outright — so even where physical space exists, forming a hardstanding may need a planning application. It is worth a conversation with Cheshire East planning before spending anything.

Question 3

Driveway for a house with no front garden

Accepted Answer

Often not at the front, and it is better to know that early. The silk-era terraces in and around the centre are built hard up against the pavement edge, so there is no private frontage to pave and nowhere for a dropped kerb to lead. Where there is a rear yard or a back entry, that is usually where the possibility lies. The Macclesfield Character Assessment describes the town's silk-era workers' cottages and three-storey weavers' garrets as built hard up against the pavement edge — which is exactly the situation that rules out a front driveway. A crossover has to lead somewhere, and where the front door opens onto the footway there is nothing behind it to park on. Cheshire East will not grant a crossover to a doorstep. Where a terrace does have a small front garden, the question becomes whether what remains after paving is actually usable. A car needs somewhere between four and five metres of depth to sit clear of the footway, and a vehicle overhanging the pavement is both an obstruction and a reason for a crossover application to be refused. Measuring honestly before designing anything saves a wasted application. Rear access is where the real possibility usually sits. Many terraces here have back yards reached by a shared entry or a rear lane, and a hardstanding there can be entirely practical. The complications are ownership and rights of way over the entry, the width available for turning, and whether the surface of the shared lane can take the traffic — none of which is insurmountable but all of which needs establishing before work. Two things to check with the shared entry. Who owns it and who has rights over it, which is a deeds question rather than a driveway one. And the drainage: since 1 October 2011 shared drains and sewers transferred to the water company, so the gullies and runs in a shared entry are very often United Utilities' rather than any individual householder's. The conservation area position adds another layer in the centre. Much of the older town sits within a conservation area, and the Article 4(2) directions at Christ Church and High Street remove permitted development rights outright — so even where physical space exists, forming a hardstanding may need a planning application. It is worth a conversation with Cheshire East planning before spending anything.

Can I get a driveway on a terraced street?

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