Driveways in East Cowton

Cow farm

The name comes from Old English words meaning cow farm, with "East" to set it apart from North and South Cowton nearby. The village was once known as Long Cowton, and before that Magna Cowton, and the long main street still explains the old name. The Domesday Book records it as Cottune. Over the centuries the manor passed through several families, including the Clervaux family of Croft from 1324 to 1548, and later the Belasyse and Webb families.

East Cowton is a quiet place. The 2001 Census counted 233 dwellings in the parish. Houses line the main street, with farms behind them and fields on every side, and a few newer homes have been added over the years.

That layout shapes the drives. Older houses and cottages sit close to the street, often with a narrow strip of garden or a side yard, while farmhouses and larger detached homes have long lanes or yards behind gates. Many plots were never designed for two or three cars, so parking has grown piecemeal: a strip of concrete here, a patch of hardcore there. A new drive is often the chance to tidy all of that into one surface with a proper base, edges that hold and drainage that copes with the clay. Because the village is surrounded by farmland, mud and stones carried in on tyres are part of everyday life, which is one reason many owners prefer a sealed surface such as tarmac or block paving near the house.

Detached homes and cars

Around the village (LSOA Hambleton 003B, 762 households, which also covers surrounding villages and farms), the 2021 Census found:

• 65% of homes were detached, 21% semis, 11% terraces and 3% flats.
• 81% were owner-occupied and 15% privately rented.
• 63% of households had two or more cars or vans, and only 5% had none.

Out here a car is essential, and many households need room for farm or work vehicles too. Typical jobs:

• Wide tarmac or block-paved drives for detached houses.
• Turning areas, so cars and vans can pull out forwards onto the main street.
• Parking for a van, trailer or horsebox beside the house.
• Replacing old concrete that has cracked and sunk on the clay.

Boulder clay and the beck

The BGS maps the village on Devensian till, a stiff boulder clay, over Sherwood Sandstone. Clay drains slowly, so:

• permeable surfaces need a deeper open-graded base, or a drain to a soakaway or border,
• tarmac and block paving need falls to a channel drain or the garden, not the road,
• heavy vehicles need a thicker sub-base, especially on soft ground.

The Environment Agency maps small Flood Zone 3 and Flood Zone 2 areas within 300 metres of the centre, following the beck. If your home is close to it, keep the drive permeable and avoid raising ground levels.

Planning and the kerb

East Cowton isn't a conservation area, and there are few listed buildings close to the centre. A permeable front drive, or one draining to your own garden, is permitted development. Impermeable paving over five square metres draining onto the road needs planning permission.

Dropping the kerb. North Yorkshire Council sells a domestic licence for £310.20, with the crossing built by an approved independent contractor, or will quote to build it for a £102.36 fee, with no fee if a crossing proves impossible. On the long, straight main street, visibility is usually good, but the council still checks each crossing. See our dropped kerbs page.

What goes into an East Cowton quote

Every quote follows a visit and is fixed for the agreed job. Here the main factors are:

• Size, as drives and turning areas are often large.
• Load, if vans or trailers will park, which needs a deeper base.
• Drainage on clay ground.
• Old surfaces to remove.
• The crossing, if a new or wider one is needed.

Villages and areas near East Cowton

• Great Smeaton drives: North-east, a conservation village on the A167.
• Appleton Wiske drives: East, a long village on the River Wiske.
• Yafforth drives: South towards Northallerton, a small farming village.

Surfaces often chosen in East Cowton: tarmac surfacing, block paving, gravel driveways.

All areas covered: See every village.

Questions people ask in East Cowton

Sources: ONS Census 2021, LSOA Hambleton 003B (TS044, TS045, TS054 via Nomis); Wikipedia: East Cowton; Planning Data: conservation areas and listed buildings; BGS Geology Viewer, 1:50,000; Environment Agency flood map for planning; North Yorkshire Council: pavements and kerbs; GOV.UK: permeable surfacing of front gardens.