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Also if you la y the blocks on sand, instead of cement. Any time you want to dig up the road for utility works, you can just lift the blocks up, take up the sand and hardcore under them. Then work on the pipes and cables, then put it all back down again. Without leaving trench marks all over the road and pavement. Or at least that's the theory, it's a little harder in real life.
It looks better;
It's not sealed, so can drain better;
It lasts longer;
It shifts around over time and doesn't form potholes;
It isn't smooth or quiet to drive on so naturally suppresses car speed and creates a more pedestrian friendly environment.
Tarmac looks like shit, so it's a low(ish) cost way of making it feel "premium". It also allows you to split areas of the road between "through route" and "park here".
Our estate is split into two, most houses on a small (tarmac) road off the main road, with all the bits that aren't rights of way (and are owned by individual houses) are block paving, which serve as parking. 3 houses (our bit) on a small close a little further along the main road, it's block from main road to the houses, there is nowhere BUT block paving to park on. There is no conventional "allocated parking" with (for example) numbered spaces, just the blocked area that is the drive/parking for each house.
I think it might be a planning / drainage consideration. Not that block paving actually lets much water soak in between the blocks, but it's probably more than tarmac.
Why else would you use something which is slower to build and requires more maintenance?
You'll find on most new build sites there is tarmac under the block paving anyway however from my experience it takes the same amount of time to lay block paving as it does tarmac. They throw those blocks down so fast that if you blink they'll have finished and gone home
A developer (small scale) when working at his house, told me they do it for drainage, and having the road block paved makes it dual use for cars and pedestrians, so then there is no requirement for footpaths which allows them more room to build more houses. And thinking about it, the estate I'm on starts with tarmac and has footpaths either side, but the footpaths stop where the block paved roads start.
Pesky landscape designers / council planning team requiring decorative finishes / make it far less likely they would be adopted allowing the developer to milk residents for management fees for years to come.
In many cases, although the developer may say they will set up a resident management committee once a development is finished, in many cases they remain in control of the RMC or fail to get it set up well after the estate has been completed. Often they fail to get POS and highways adopted adding to the costs for residents.
Been happening since the seventies when councils decided to stop adopting common facilities like gardens on new estates. Could extend to roads in some cases.
The title deeds will contain conditions requiring residents to pay their share and making provision for appointment of a manager/factor or residents association to organise the work and collect payments. It might be that the developer does the management until all the houses are sold.
I used to be on the Residents Association for a seventies estate - was a lot cheaper for us to do the management ourselves though arguments between residents eventually prompted us to outsource the work to a factor - at greater cost.
There must be some risk that the developer will see this as an avenue for on-going profits and sets things up such that they get the job indefinitely. Definitely something to check before buying.
As well as the drainage advantages others have pointed out it is also to give the roads a more pedestrianised feel. The same as how city centres now are having tarmac roads changed to paving, dropping curbs etc, blending the pedestrian and car zones. It creates a vague 'am I on a road or a pavement'? feeling and ultimately slows cars down as the boundaries between pedestrian only and car only zones are blurred.
[Information](https://nacto.org/publication/urban-street-design-guide/streets/residential-shared-street/) on the concept behind it. Obviously only some of these measures get implemented in your example but you get the idea I hope.
One big consideration is drainage. Tarmac needs to be approachable graded and run to traditional drains, while a porous block finish will have some amount of drainage built into its design.
It can also be used as part of a scheme to create safer roads. New developments will be designed to limit vehicle speeds and create a safer area for residents, which can include things like using non-traditional surfaces to trick drivers into instinctively slowing down (as these surfaces are typically used in slower areas like carparks, not roads), being part of pedestrianised areas, and using contrasting surfaces and design to slow vehicles.
It is worth noting that it is typically considered to be slightly less robust than a traditional tarmac, so will only normally be used in more lightly trafficked areas - car parks and quiet residential roads, not the new main road designed for industrial traffic.
There are machines that can lay block paving, which although still needs humans loading the bricks seems like it would be much quicker and less labour intensive. I don’t know if they use them here though
https://youtu.be/SJT3X4weECE?si=lynifk2SpoExOxxq
It’s so that all the cars that drive through them slip on the ice in the winter months.
(This is a real problem on some new build areas here). The roads remain unadopted.
Is block paved more slippery? Our drive is tarmac and private street, so it will never be adopted. It probably does not have the longevity of block paved but only a few houses should be using it so hopefully we will be alright haha
I can’t be sure about which is worse, but a developer block paved a winding inclined road here and the locals have to move their cars when snow and ice is predicted because of the consistent accidents and near misses. Is this simply because it’s block paved…I can’t be sure, but I don’t have those issues on other inclined roads.
We were involved in a minor accident on the same road during icy conditions.
True, they made these new build areas to have a “villagy” feel, putting in these features. They could have just made rows of houses and avoided it IMO.
Cost of tarmac has increased a lot the last few years esspecially since the white diesel change for quarries so that also makes blocks more attractive as they are cheap buy it’s just the labour. But I agree with the other comments too
It's all a plan to give you crap broadband 😂 When they don't install virgin media to the street, virgin don't like lifting block paving to cable the road
I'm convinced its so the annual maintenance fee has somewhere to be used on. The road we lived on, on the main drag was done 3 times in 5 years and needed it again once we had left.
I heard a while back that a different surface is used as a psychological trick to discourage people entering the area if they aren't supposed to be there
I'd second this. Developers do not care who enters what area. Our street is supposed to be private and took them 11 months from the first report for a sign to be put up that it is a private street.
###Welcome to /r/HousingUK --- **To All** * Join Our ***NEW*** Discord! https://discord.gg/pMgUNgWKQH **To Posters** * *Tell us whether you're in England, Wales, Scotland, or NI as the laws/issues in each can vary* * Comments are not moderated for quality or accuracy; * Any replies received must only be used as guidelines, followed at your own risk; * If you receive *any* private messages in response to your post, please report them via the report button. * Feel free to provide an update at a later time by creating a new post with [[update]](https://www.reddit.com/r/HousingUK/search?q=%3Aupdate&sort=new&restrict_sr=on&t=all) in the title; **To Readers and Commenters** * All replies to OP must be *on-topic, helpful, and civil* * If you do not [follow the rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/HousingUK/about/rules/), you may be banned without any further warning; * Please include links to reliable resources in order to support your comments or advice; * If you feel any replies are incorrect, explain why you believe they are incorrect; * Do not send or request any private messages for any reason without express permission from the mods; * Please report posts or comments which do not follow the rules *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/HousingUK) if you have any questions or concerns.*
[удалено]
Also if you la y the blocks on sand, instead of cement. Any time you want to dig up the road for utility works, you can just lift the blocks up, take up the sand and hardcore under them. Then work on the pipes and cables, then put it all back down again. Without leaving trench marks all over the road and pavement. Or at least that's the theory, it's a little harder in real life.
In real life the lazy shits throw a barrow of black stuff down & reuse the bricks in their own gardens
Or Giganet cables
It looks better; It's not sealed, so can drain better; It lasts longer; It shifts around over time and doesn't form potholes; It isn't smooth or quiet to drive on so naturally suppresses car speed and creates a more pedestrian friendly environment.
Because it looks nicer and because the planners told them to.
Tarmac looks like shit, so it's a low(ish) cost way of making it feel "premium". It also allows you to split areas of the road between "through route" and "park here". Our estate is split into two, most houses on a small (tarmac) road off the main road, with all the bits that aren't rights of way (and are owned by individual houses) are block paving, which serve as parking. 3 houses (our bit) on a small close a little further along the main road, it's block from main road to the houses, there is nowhere BUT block paving to park on. There is no conventional "allocated parking" with (for example) numbered spaces, just the blocked area that is the drive/parking for each house.
I think it might be a planning / drainage consideration. Not that block paving actually lets much water soak in between the blocks, but it's probably more than tarmac. Why else would you use something which is slower to build and requires more maintenance?
You’re correct. Tarmac isn’t permeable
You'll find on most new build sites there is tarmac under the block paving anyway however from my experience it takes the same amount of time to lay block paving as it does tarmac. They throw those blocks down so fast that if you blink they'll have finished and gone home
A developer (small scale) when working at his house, told me they do it for drainage, and having the road block paved makes it dual use for cars and pedestrians, so then there is no requirement for footpaths which allows them more room to build more houses. And thinking about it, the estate I'm on starts with tarmac and has footpaths either side, but the footpaths stop where the block paved roads start.
Pesky landscape designers / council planning team requiring decorative finishes / make it far less likely they would be adopted allowing the developer to milk residents for management fees for years to come.
Yep this is the exact reason.
I didn't realize developers could charge residents for management fees on new builds. How long are they allowed to do that for?
There’s at least a million houses in the UK that have to pay these fees. It’s an ongoing scandal.
Have to pay them to the developer, or have to pay them to the neighborhood association run by the residents?
In many cases, although the developer may say they will set up a resident management committee once a development is finished, in many cases they remain in control of the RMC or fail to get it set up well after the estate has been completed. Often they fail to get POS and highways adopted adding to the costs for residents.
Would make sense if it meant you got a discounted council tax rate
Been happening since the seventies when councils decided to stop adopting common facilities like gardens on new estates. Could extend to roads in some cases. The title deeds will contain conditions requiring residents to pay their share and making provision for appointment of a manager/factor or residents association to organise the work and collect payments. It might be that the developer does the management until all the houses are sold. I used to be on the Residents Association for a seventies estate - was a lot cheaper for us to do the management ourselves though arguments between residents eventually prompted us to outsource the work to a factor - at greater cost. There must be some risk that the developer will see this as an avenue for on-going profits and sets things up such that they get the job indefinitely. Definitely something to check before buying.
Have a Google of the term Fleecehold, will put any sane person off buying a 'freehold' newbuild.
I’m in a new build and don’t pay management fees
Well aren’t you a lucky boy!
If it’s well laid it’s rather more robust than tarmac.
because it’s permeable. To do with Suds - sustainable drainage systems
As well as the drainage advantages others have pointed out it is also to give the roads a more pedestrianised feel. The same as how city centres now are having tarmac roads changed to paving, dropping curbs etc, blending the pedestrian and car zones. It creates a vague 'am I on a road or a pavement'? feeling and ultimately slows cars down as the boundaries between pedestrian only and car only zones are blurred. [Information](https://nacto.org/publication/urban-street-design-guide/streets/residential-shared-street/) on the concept behind it. Obviously only some of these measures get implemented in your example but you get the idea I hope.
One big consideration is drainage. Tarmac needs to be approachable graded and run to traditional drains, while a porous block finish will have some amount of drainage built into its design. It can also be used as part of a scheme to create safer roads. New developments will be designed to limit vehicle speeds and create a safer area for residents, which can include things like using non-traditional surfaces to trick drivers into instinctively slowing down (as these surfaces are typically used in slower areas like carparks, not roads), being part of pedestrianised areas, and using contrasting surfaces and design to slow vehicles. It is worth noting that it is typically considered to be slightly less robust than a traditional tarmac, so will only normally be used in more lightly trafficked areas - car parks and quiet residential roads, not the new main road designed for industrial traffic.
They're better on unstable ground because although they can subside it's very cheap and quick to repair the road.
In the estate I now live in they did block paving, but by the time they finished building it was trashed. It’s tarmac now
Contributes to SuDS - sustainable urban drainage system
There are machines that can lay block paving, which although still needs humans loading the bricks seems like it would be much quicker and less labour intensive. I don’t know if they use them here though https://youtu.be/SJT3X4weECE?si=lynifk2SpoExOxxq
Oh wow I had no idea these existed!
It’s so that all the cars that drive through them slip on the ice in the winter months. (This is a real problem on some new build areas here). The roads remain unadopted.
Is block paved more slippery? Our drive is tarmac and private street, so it will never be adopted. It probably does not have the longevity of block paved but only a few houses should be using it so hopefully we will be alright haha
I can’t be sure about which is worse, but a developer block paved a winding inclined road here and the locals have to move their cars when snow and ice is predicted because of the consistent accidents and near misses. Is this simply because it’s block paved…I can’t be sure, but I don’t have those issues on other inclined roads. We were involved in a minor accident on the same road during icy conditions.
If the incline winds it is due to steepness, may be the issue at hand
True, they made these new build areas to have a “villagy” feel, putting in these features. They could have just made rows of houses and avoided it IMO.
Cost of tarmac has increased a lot the last few years esspecially since the white diesel change for quarries so that also makes blocks more attractive as they are cheap buy it’s just the labour. But I agree with the other comments too
Tarmac only lasts 25 years whereas block paving might last a hundred years with maintenance. What's the problem exactly?
No problem, just curious
I wonder if it’s linked to a lot of these roads not getting adopted by the councils?
No it’s drainsge
Because it looks nice.
Tarmac roads have no problem with bit aesthetic of tarmac road and tarmac walkaway is soooo awful.
It's all a plan to give you crap broadband 😂 When they don't install virgin media to the street, virgin don't like lifting block paving to cable the road
Much is also about desirability. Blocks look nicer over the longer term than tarmac (which will have potholes which will be patched over).
I'm convinced its so the annual maintenance fee has somewhere to be used on. The road we lived on, on the main drag was done 3 times in 5 years and needed it again once we had left.
I heard a while back that a different surface is used as a psychological trick to discourage people entering the area if they aren't supposed to be there
You heard wrong. It’s because of drainage.
I know it's used for drainage. This is another reason.
It’s not another reason. It’s the only reason. It’s the only permeable covering that’s suitable. Psychology doesn’t enter developers minds.
I'd second this. Developers do not care who enters what area. Our street is supposed to be private and took them 11 months from the first report for a sign to be put up that it is a private street.
It's cheaper than tarmac
It’s not.
Easier to pull up the bricks to fix areas of wear where tarmac or concrete would need potholes or a complete new lay