High enclosure, interwar avenues
The name Heworth is Anglo-Saxon for a "high enclosure". Two Roman cremation cemeteries have been found in the area. It is no longer usually called a village, and "Heworth Village" is now the name of one road, where the Walnut Tree pub stands. Heworth Green, the road from the city, has a run of listed houses.
The streets most people mean by Heworth, such as Oakland Avenue, Hempland Avenue, Chestnut Avenue and Forest Way, were laid out between the wars. The photographer of one of our images notes the Oakland Avenue semis were built around 1937–39 as speculative development, with pairs of houses set back on spacious avenues.
The 2021 Census for the wider Heworth ward covers a lot of ground, from terraces near the city to the suburbs. Its 5,717 households were 41% semi-detached, 31% terraced, 21% flats and 7% detached, with 30% having no car. The avenues off Stockton Lane are quite different. In LSOA York 008A, 61% of homes were semis and 16% detached. 82% were owner-occupied, a third of households had two or more cars and only 14% had none.
Heworth owners usually want:
- A full-width drive for two cars across the front of a 1930s semi.
- Replacement of an old concrete strip and the crazy paving beside it.
- A side drive to a garage or to the back garden.
- Better drainage, because water ponds on the clay in winter.
Lake clay and nearby flood zones
The British Geological Survey maps Heworth on the Alne Glaciolacustrine Formation, the clay and silt of an old glacial lake, over Sherwood Sandstone. Lake clay is fine-grained and slow to drain, and it can shrink in dry summers and swell when wet.
So a Heworth drive needs:
- Excavation below the topsoil to firm clay, often 200mm or more.
- A geotextile membrane under the sub-base.
- A well-compacted crushed stone base.
- A clear route for water: a fall to a border, a channel drain or a tested soakaway.
The Environment Agency's flood map shows 15 Flood Zone 2 and 13 Flood Zone 3 areas within 300 metres of the census area. Check your own address. Near a mapped zone, a permeable surface keeps rain on your land and avoids adding to run-off.
Conservation and kerbs
Heworth Green/East Parade conservation area covers the older streets closer to the city. Listed buildings there include 44 to 50, 104 and 108 Heworth Green, The Limes and 70 Heworth Village. In the conservation area, ask City of York Council's planning team before taking out walls or railings.
On the interwar avenues there is no conservation area. A permeable front drive on a house, or one draining to the garden, is permitted development. Impermeable surfaces over five square metres draining to the road need planning permission.
Dropped kerbs. York's fee is £263 if approved, £131.50 to improve an existing crossing and £63 if refused, non-refundable. The council looks at safety, traffic and the effect on on-street parking, and its decision is final. On Stockton Lane or Malton Road, gates should sit at least 6 metres back so a car can pull off the road first. See our dropped kerbs page.
Prices for a two-car Heworth drive
A full-width drive in front of a 1930s semi is often around 30 to 32m². At Checkatrade's April 2026 UK averages for 32m²:
- Gravel in a grid: about £60 per m², roughly £1,920.
- Tarmac: about £90 per m², roughly £2,880.
- Block paving: about £100 per m², roughly £3,200.
- Resin bound: about £120 per m², roughly £3,840.
On clay, the deeper excavation and drainage add to the cost. Removing an old concrete drive and widening the crossing are extras too. If the crazy paving beside the old drive is coming up as well, it is usually cheaper to clear the whole front at once.
Neighbouring areas
- Driveways in Osbaldwick: East along Osbaldwick Lane, a village suburb with a conservation area.
- Driveways in Huntington: North up the Foss, a village of newer estates.
- Driveways in Acomb: Across the city to the west, another suburb of 1930s semis.
Useful pages for Heworth homeowners: block paving, tarmac, dropped kerbs.
All the areas we cover: Where we work.
Questions people ask in Heworth
Will a two-car drive fit my Heworth semi?
Many of the interwar semis are set back far enough. You need about 5 metres of depth and roughly 5 metres of width for two cars side by side.
Why does my Heworth drive crack?
Lake clay shrinks and swells with the seasons. Without a deep enough compacted base on a membrane, the surface moves with it.
Is Heworth in a flood zone?
Some land within 300 metres of the Stockton Lane avenues is in mapped Flood Zones 2 and 3. Check your address on the Environment Agency's flood map.
Is Heworth a conservation area?
Only the older streets around Heworth Green and East Parade. The interwar avenues are not.
Sources: ONS Census 2021, Heworth ward and LSOA York 008A (TS044, TS045, TS054 via Nomis); Wikipedia: Heworth, York; Geograph: Suburban semis, Heworth (Gordon Hatton); Planning Data: conservation areas and listed buildings; BGS Geology Viewer, 1:50,000; Environment Agency flood map for planning; City of York Council: dropped kerbs and vehicle access; Checkatrade driveway cost guide (April 2026).