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Paving Specialist terms explained — Birkenhead glossary

Permeable Paving(SuDS)

Paving that lets water drain through rather than running off to the highway. Using it, or draining to a soakaway inside your boundary, is what keeps a front-garden scheme within permitted development and out of the planning system.

Sub-base

The compacted stone layer beneath the paving, typically the largest single element of the build-up. Nearly every sunken or rutted driveway is an insufficient sub-base rather than a problem with the blocks on top — and it is the part nobody can inspect afterwards.

Edge Restraint(Edging)

The haunched kerb or edging holding the paved field in place. Without it, block paving spreads sideways under vehicle loading and the joints open — the characteristic failure of a cheap driveway in its third or fourth year.

Dropped Kerb(Vehicle crossover)

The council-approved lowering of the pavement kerb to let a vehicle cross legally. It is a separate application and cost from the driveway itself, and driving over an un-dropped kerb is an offence regardless of whose driveway it leads to.