Areas · Gravesham
Serving Gravesend, Northfleet, Meopham, Istead Rise and the wider Gravesham area. Around 15 minutes from our Rochester base.
Gravesham covers the riverside town of Gravesend and Northfleet, plus a band of villages running south through Meopham, Istead Rise and Vigo to the North Downs. Gravesend has a lot of Victorian and Edwardian terraces and villas, while the villages are mainly detached and semi-detached houses on generous plots, many surrounded by Green Belt.
Typical work here includes off-road parking for town houses where on-street parking is tight, garden patios and walls for village homes, and tidy, low-maintenance front gardens. We're just over the border from Medway, so site visits are quick to arrange.
- Postcodes
- DA11, DA12, DA13
- From our base
- Around 15 minutes from our Rochester base
- Main towns
- Gravesend, Northfleet, Meopham, Istead Rise, Higham, Shorne, Cobham, Culverstone Green, Singlewell, Vigo
Ground conditions
Chalk, sands and Thames-side clay
Northfleet and much of Gravesend sit on chalk — the area has a long history of chalk quarrying and cement making — with Thanet Sand and patches of clay above it. Towards the river the ground becomes estuary alluvium, which is soft and holds water. Chalk drains well but can hide solution features and soft spots, so we check the formation carefully after digging out. Nearer the Thames we allow for a stronger sub-base and positive drainage.
Local knowledge
Building in Gravesham: what to know.
Lawful development certificates before a dropped kerb
Gravesham Borough Council asks residents to obtain a Lawful Development Certificate (or planning permission, where needed) before applying to Kent County Council — the highways authority — for a dropped kerb. It's worth starting that paperwork early, as the driveway and crossing need to be agreed together.
Green Belt villages
Most of rural Gravesham lies in the Metropolitan Green Belt, and parts of the south fall within the Kent Downs National Landscape. Garden patios and driveways within normal permitted development are rarely an issue, but larger outbuildings and extensions are looked at more closely here than in the towns.
Historic Gravesend and Cobham
Gravesend's riverside town centre and villages such as Cobham, Shorne and Meopham Green have conservation areas. On older town terraces with shallow front gardens, careful design keeps a driveway looking neat rather than dominating the frontage.
Popular here
What we’re asked for most in Gravesham.
Coverage
Towns & villages we cover.
Gravesend · Northfleet · Meopham · Istead Rise · Higham · Shorne · Cobham · Culverstone Green · Singlewell · Vigo
Chalk · Dode · Harvel · Luddesdown · Meopham Green · Painters Ash · Sole Street · Springhead · Thong
Not listed? Send us your postcode and we’ll confirm.
FAQs
Gravesham: common questions
Something else? Call 07724 730872 or send us a message.
Gravesham asks for a Lawful Development Certificate (or planning permission where required) first, and then you apply to Kent County Council, which approves and oversees the vehicle crossing. We can help you plan the driveway layout to support the application.
Nearby areas
Planning a project in Gravesham?
Free site visits and written quotes across Kent. Tell us what you have in mind and we’ll come and take a look.