SWINDON, 8 September 2026 – Homeowners in Swindon may be blaming poor installation for driveway problems that are actually being made worse by the ground beneath their properties. RPS Resin Driveways says the town’s extensive clay soil can move considerably between wet and dry periods, potentially contributing to cracked concrete, uneven paving and damaged tarmac. The installer has now published a series of free guides covering driveway construction on clay, expected costs and the planning rules homeowners need to know.
The company has released the information as autumn begins, when rainfall starts returning to the ground after summer and signs of seasonal movement can become more obvious.
“People assume a cracked driveway means someone did a bad job,” said James, who runs RPS Resin Driveways. “Sometimes that’s true. But in Swindon the ground itself is the problem. The clay under Stratton, Walcot, Toothill, Freshbrook and most of the newer estates swells when it’s wet and shrinks when it’s dry, and it does that every single year. A rigid slab of concrete has no way to cope with that.”
Clay shrinkage is the most common cause of subsidence claims in the UK. Houses are built on foundations designed to deal with it. Driveways are not. They sit a few inches into the ground, right in the layer that moves.
What a driveway on clay actually needs
RPS Resin Driveways says homeowners should pay close attention to the preparation beneath a new driveway rather than focusing solely on the final surface. Its resin bound driveways in Swindon guidance recommends a 100 to 150mm layer of compacted, permeable stone below the finished surface. The aim is to allow water to drain away instead of accumulating above the clay.
“The quote that’s a thousand pounds cheaper is nearly always cheaper because the sub-base is thinner or missing,” James said. “You won’t see the difference on the day it’s finished. You’ll see it two winters later. Any installer quoting in this town should be able to tell you exactly how deep they’re digging and what they’re putting back in. If they can’t, walk away.”
RPS Resin Driveways says it has carried out more than 800 resin installations in Swindon and the surrounding Wiltshire towns. Its guarantees include 10 years for workmanship and 15 years for the resin system.
Three rules that catch Swindon homeowners out
Planning and council requirements are another area covered by the company’s homeowner guides. James says these requirements can create significant delays when they are not checked before work starts.
Since October 2008, paving more than five square metres of a front garden with an impermeable material has required planning permission. Permeable surfaces such as resin bound stone installed over a free-draining base are exempt. However, properties within Swindon conservation areas, including sections of Old Town and the Railway Village, may be subject to additional consent requirements.
A new vehicle crossing is also subject to a separate application. Swindon Borough Council charges £203 for a residential vehicle crossing licence, and that fee is not returned if the application is rejected. Before the application can be considered, the driveway needs to be at least five metres from the back of the pavement to the house and 2.5 metres wide. Only a contractor licensed to undertake work on the public highway can alter the kerb.
There are also seasonal restrictions on resin installation. Resin bound surfacing cannot be laid during rainfall or when the ground is close to freezing. Anyone aiming to have work completed before Christmas should therefore make arrangements by mid-autumn.
What it costs
RPS Resin Driveways currently publishes resin bound surfacing prices of £100 to £300 per square metre. Including groundwork, most Swindon projects are expected to cost between £2,500 and £12,000.
The condition of the existing driveway is one of the main factors affecting the price. A stable concrete surface may be suitable for an overlay, while a block paved driveway that has failed because of wet clay may need to be removed entirely and rebuilt. More detail is available in the company’s resin driveway cost guide, which sets out indicative prices according to driveway size and existing surface.
“Honestly, I’d rather someone read the guides and got a fair job from a competitor than paid us without understanding what they were buying,” James said. “The town has enough driveways that failed inside five years. We’d like fewer of them.”
Homeowners can arrange a free site survey and written quotation through the RPS Resin Driveways website or by calling 01793 939296.
