Fairfield's semis and their drives
At the 2021 Census the Fairfield ward had 2,431 households. Its housing is 70% semi-detached, 17% detached, 7% terraced and 5% flats. About 81% of homes were owner-occupied, 40% of households had two or more cars or vans, and only 14% had none.
Fairfield is in the TS19 postcode district. Fairfield Road is the spine, with Bishopton Road West to the north and Oxbridge Lane and Green's Lane towards the south-east. Residential streets include Gilling Road and Upsall Grove. Local landmarks include St Mark's Church, Fairfield Library and the Ian Ramsey Church of England Academy with its playing fields.
The common Fairfield set-up is a semi with:
- an attached or linked garage set back beside the house;
- a single-width drive in concrete or slabs leading to it;
- a front lawn, often open-plan or behind a low wall or hedge;
- a dropped kerb about one car wide.
Over the decades, that concrete strip has often cracked from frost, roots and settlement. Many owners now want two cars side by side, which means breaking out the strip, taking in part of the lawn and widening the crossing.
Fairfield's ground and the becks
The British Geological Survey maps Fairfield on glacial till, a stony clay, over Sherwood Sandstone. Till drains slowly. A replacement drive needs digging down to firm ground, a compacted stone sub-base on a membrane, and falls that send water to a lawn, border or soakaway rather than the house or the footway. Soakaways in clay must be bigger than in sandy ground.
Several small becks run through west Stockton's green corridors. The Environment Agency's flood map shows a little Flood Zone 2 and 3 land within about 300 metres of central Fairfield, and more within a kilometre. Most Fairfield homes are well outside it, but if your garden backs onto a beck corridor, check the flood map for your postcode.
Council process and planning
Planning. Fairfield has no conservation area. On a house, a new or extended drive in a front garden does not need planning permission if it is permeable or drains within the plot. More than five square metres of hard surface draining onto the road does need permission.
Widening the crossing. Driving over the full-height kerb next to an existing crossing is not allowed and damages the footway. Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council treats a widening like a new crossing. You apply online, and either accept the council's quote for the work or use a private contractor holding the council's Opening Up licence. The council publishes no fixed fee. It looks at visibility, junctions, street trees, lamp posts and whether the car will sit clear of the footway. Street trees and lamp posts on Fairfield's verges can limit how wide a crossing can go. See dropped kerbs and the council or private dropped kerb guide.
Fairfield drives: replace, overlay or rebuild
| Situation | Usual approach |
|---|---|
| Concrete sound but tired | Overlay with tarmac, or resin on a suitable base |
| Concrete cracked and rocking | Break out, rebuild base, lay new |
| Two cars side by side | Break out, extend into lawn, widen crossing |
Which row you are in decides the price far more than the surface does. Breaking out and removing old concrete is one of the biggest parts of the job, because of the labour and skip loads, so an overlay is worth checking first where door and damp-course levels allow. In Stockton, a wider crossing is priced by the council or the licensed contractor. Our Stockton cost guide explains what else adds up.
Block paving in a warm brindle suits Fairfield's brick semis. Tarmac with block edging is the practical lower-cost choice. Resin bound needs a porous base, so it is not usually laid straight over old concrete.
Nearby areas
- Hartburn: to the south, with older Edwardian and inter-war houses and a conservation area.
- Elm Tree: to the north across Fairfield Road, a mix of semis and detached homes on similar clay.
- Oxbridge: to the east, closer to town, with more terraces and smaller frontages.
See all areas on our areas page.
Questions people ask in Fairfield
Can my old concrete drive be overlaid rather than replaced?
If the concrete is sound, level and not rocking, it can often be overlaid with tarmac, or with resin over a suitable porous base. If it is cracked into loose slabs or has sunk, overlaying just copies the problem, so breaking out and rebuilding is better.
Do I need the council to widen my dropped kerb?
Yes. Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council treats widening like a new crossing. Apply online, then accept the council's quote or use a contractor with its Opening Up licence.
Is Fairfield in a flood risk area?
Most of Fairfield is in Flood Zone 1. Some Flood Zone 2 and 3 land lies along the small becks in west Stockton's green corridors. Check your postcode on the Environment Agency's flood map if you are near one.
Do I need planning permission to widen a drive on a Fairfield semi?
Usually not, if the new surface is permeable or drains into your garden. Fairfield has no conservation area. More than five square metres of hard surface draining onto the road would need permission.
Sources: ONS Census 2021, Fairfield ward (TS044, TS045, TS054 via Nomis); postcodes.io (ONS Postcode Directory): TS19 7DA; BGS Geology Viewer, 1:50,000; Environment Agency flood map for planning; Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council: apply for a driveway crossing.