Henley Brook paving, about 11 km east of Landsdale
For paving in Henley Brook, IBP Paving travels about 11 km from its Landsdale base, and the suburb is part of our usual working area. The work splits two ways. On the newer estate streets it is first driveways, crossovers, alfresco areas and soakwells for recently built homes. On the acreage it is long driveways, turning circles and paved areas around sheds and outbuildings. Each job carries a lifetime workmanship warranty, and we bring over 20 years of experience to the drainage design that this suburb's ground demands.
Estates, hobby farms and a church from 1831
Henley Brook has three generations of settlement side by side. The eastern side is rural residential country: hobby farms and wineries on lots of 5 to 10 acres. Morgan Fields estate was released in 2000, and since 2022 the first stages of Brooklands and Mirvac's Henley Brook estate have brought new homes on conventional suburban lots.
The oldest layer is heritage. All Saints Anglican Church dates from 1831, built as the Upper Swan Church, and stands in the suburb with Haddrill's House, Edwards' House and Henley Park Homestead nearby. Around older homes on the rural side, traditional finishes such as limestone or a warm clay brick tend to suit the setting.
For the new estates, the order of work is usually driveway and crossover, then the rear alfresco, with soakwells placed before any paving goes over them.
Two kinds of ground in one suburb
The north west of Henley Brook sits on the Gnangara Mound at up to 45 m above sea level, and the land drops to about 7 m on the flood plains. That fall is likely to mark a change in soil. The western estates, an extension of Ellenbrook's ground, are thought to be mostly grey Bassendean sand that drains freely. The east is likely to be Guildford Formation clay and Swan River alluvium, which drains slowly and moves with the seasons.
Henley Brook and St Leonard's Creek both cross the suburb, and seasonal flooding on the flood plain is a regular event. On the low eastern lots we build paving on a deeper compacted base, lay it with a positive fall away from buildings, and plan surface drainage and pipework where soakwells would sit in water. Parts of the rural and river edges may carry bushfire exposure, so paving close to buildings is a sensible non combustible surround.
Storing stormwater on site under Swan rules
The City of Swan requires stormwater from roofs and paving to be collected and either piped to the City's system or kept on site in soakwells or another approved retention system.
The general guide for sizing is 0.0122 x impervious area in square metres, about 12.2 litres per square metre, and it is stated as based on sandy soil of high permeability. The 2022 handbook keeps that rate for R25 and lower and uses 0.0159 for R30 and above. Capacity is reduced where groundwater rises above the base, in which case soakwells may not be suitable, and subsoil drains are required where maximum groundwater is less than 1.2 m below lot level.
Source: City of Swan, Property Development Design Guidelines, Specification D12 (August 2016); Handbook of Stormwater Drainage Design (April 2022).
Soakwells also need to be at least 1.8 m from footings and boundaries. See our City of Swan soakwell requirements and soakwell installation pages.
Crossovers for estate lots and for acreage
On a suburban lot, a City of Swan residential crossover is between 3.0 m and 6.0 m wide, or 40 percent of the lot width if that is less, set at 90 degrees to the kerb and at least 6 m from a street corner. The City recommends getting the crossover location approved before building plans and permits are prepared, and a second crossover needs its own application. Built to specification, a first crossover in an approved residential or rural area attracts a $400 contribution, claimed on the Crossover Contribution Form.
Rural lots are treated differently. The City recommends a two coat bitumen crossover, and a brick or concrete one must finish at least 1.0 m from the road shoulder with a 30 mm hotmix asphalt strip between.
Source: City of Swan, Specification for the Construction of Vehicle Crossovers (February 2022).
Close to Henley Brook
Ellenbrook, Aveley and Brabham are the nearest estate suburbs, with Upper Swan and West Swan on the river side. The areas we service page lists every suburb we cover.
