Newcomen's streets
Newcomen lies between the railway line and Redcar's southern estates, west of Redcar Lane and east of Kirkleatham Lane. Several of its streets are named after rivers, among them Mersey Road and Thames Road, while Oxendale Road and Ayton Drive follow other naming themes. The ward includes the Lakes Estate around Buttermere Road, and schools such as Newcomen Primary and Outwood Academy Redcar sit within easy reach. Housing ranges from semis with long front gardens to townhouses on Mersey Road.
At the 2021 Census the Newcomen ward had 2,208 households: 63% semi-detached, 25% terraced, 9% detached and 4% flats. A quarter (25%) had no car or van, while 31% had two or more. Some 65% of homes were owner-occupied.
Typical frontages in Newcomen:
- Single drives beside a semi that take one car, where the owner wants room for two.
- Front lawns that could become parking, especially on terraces and older semis.
- Townhouses with short frontages, where depth is the limiting factor.
- Shared boundaries with a neighbour's drive, where levels and edging need agreeing.
The ground beneath Newcomen
The British Geological Survey maps central Newcomen on glacial till, a dense clay, over Redcar Mudstone. On clay, water lies on the surface instead of draining away. Drives need a compacted Type 1 sub-base on a membrane, a fall away from the house, and a destination for rainwater: a lawn, border, soakaway designed for clay, or a permeable surface with a deep enough base.
The Environment Agency's flood map shows the centre of the ward, near Oxendale Road, in Flood Zone 1, with no river or sea flood zone within about 400 metres. Low-lying land near the coast and railway is different, so check your own address before you build.
Permission and the dropped kerb
Planning. Newcomen has no conservation area. For a house, a permeable front drive, or one draining into the garden, is permitted development. Laying more than five square metres of impermeable surface that drains to the road needs planning permission. Flats and maisonettes need permission for any front-garden hardstanding.
Widening the crossing. Going from one car to two usually means extending the dropped kerb. Redcar and Cleveland Council says a crossing is needed for vehicle access to protect the footway and the vehicle, and its online application must be completed by the property owner. It publishes no fee on that page. Expect the council to look at the depth of the space, nearby junctions, visibility and street furniture such as lamp columns. Our Redcar dropped kerb guide walks through it.
Depth. As a rule of thumb, allow at least 5 metres from the house, bay or porch to the back of the footway for a car, more for a larger vehicle. If the space is shorter, the council is unlikely to approve the crossing, and a car overhanging the footway blocks it for pushchairs and wheelchairs.
Adding a second car space in Newcomen
Adding a second space beside an existing single drive is usually about 15m². Replacing the whole front with a two-car drive is often around 35m². Extending is the smaller job, but the new section has to match the old one in level, edging and finish, which is easier with block paving than with tarmac. A full replacement lets us start again with one base, one fall and one surface across the whole frontage.
Breaking out an old concrete drive, levelling and skip hire all add to the work, and so does extending the dropped kerb, which Redcar and Cleveland Council prices after assessing the site. Block paving is easy to extend to match; resin suits a full resurface on a sound base. See our driveway repairs page for re-laying a sunken drive.
Nearby areas
- Lakes Estate: within the ward, where post-war semis usually need a lawn conversion.
- Coatham: north across the railway, with terraces, flats and a conservation area.
- West Dyke: to the east beyond Redcar Lane, with more detached homes.
Every area we cover is on our areas page.
Questions people ask in Newcomen
Can I widen my Newcomen drive for a second car?
Usually. A permeable surface avoids planning permission for a house, but you will need Redcar and Cleveland Council to approve extending the dropped kerb. The property owner makes the application.
How deep does my front garden need to be?
Allow at least 5 metres from the house, bay or porch to the back of the footway for an average car. If you are short, the council is unlikely to approve a crossing, so measure before you pay for any design.
Is there a conservation area in Newcomen?
No. Newcomen has no conservation area, so the standard permitted development rules for front gardens apply to houses. Coatham, just across the railway, does have one.
What is the cheapest way to add parking?
Gravel in a stabilising grid is usually cheapest per square metre and is permeable. Tarmac comes next. The dropped kerb is often a large part of the total, so get the council's assessment early.
Sources: ONS Census 2021, Newcomen ward (TS044, TS045, TS054 via Nomis); postcodes.io (ONS Postcode Directory): ward lookups for TS10 4RU and TS10 1LZ; BGS Geology Viewer, 1:50,000; Environment Agency flood map for planning; Redcar and Cleveland Council: dropped kerbs; GOV.UK: permeable surfacing of front gardens.