Homes and gardens in Coatham
Coatham was here before Redcar. It appears in the Domesday Book as "Cotes", its salt pans supplied Guisborough Priory, and in 1257 it was granted a market charter. The town that grew up around it in the 19th century swallowed the old village, so today Coatham reads as the western half of Redcar: long terraced streets, larger villas on Coatham Road, and flats close to the sea front.
The 2021 Census for the Coatham ward bears that out. Terraced houses make up 39.7% of homes, 18.3% are flats and 21.9% are semi-detached. Only 3.9% are detached, one of the lowest shares anywhere in the borough. In practice that means most outdoor spaces are back yards and narrow gardens rather than wide lawns.
A Coatham yard is often fully walled in brick, sometimes with an outhouse or a back gate onto an alley. Many have old concrete, broken flags or a mix of both. The usual brief is to lift everything, sort the drainage and lay one clean, level surface wall to wall, perhaps with a raised bed along one side. Where the garden is longer, on the bigger houses along Coatham Road, there is room for a proper seating area with a step down to grass.
Access shapes the job here. Terraces without a back lane mean every bag of sub-base and every slab comes through the house, so we protect floors and plan the order of work carefully. Where there is a back alley, deliveries are simpler but parking and skip permits may still need sorting on busy streets.
Sand, wind and salt
The British Geological Survey maps much of Coatham on blown sand, laid down by wind off the beach, over Redcar Mudstone. Blown sand drains freely, which is good, but it is loose and shifts if it is not confined. A patio laid straight onto it on a thin bed will move.
We dig through any topsoil and loose sand, lay a geotextile membrane so the sand cannot migrate into the stone, and compact a sub-base of crushed stone in layers. Edges are restrained with a haunched concrete edge or a kerb so the base cannot spread sideways. Laid this way, sandy ground gives a very stable patio.
Being a few streets from the sea brings two more things to think about. Salt carried on the wind can mark some natural stones and corrode cheap metal fixings, so porcelain and dense concrete slabs are sensible choices, and we use stainless or galvanised fixings for any edging. Wind also blows sand into open joints, which is one reason we favour a firm jointing compound over loose sand brushed in.
The Environment Agency maps Flood Zone 3 within 750 metres of central Coatham, and surface water flood mapping shows many low spots in the wider area. Where a yard is fully enclosed, rain has nowhere to go but the drain, so we set a fall to a gully or a channel drain and make sure the finished level stays at least 150mm below the damp-proof course.
Planning points for Coatham
Part of Coatham sits in a conservation area, and the area holds several listed buildings, including Red Barns House (Grade II*, the former home of Gertrude Bell's family), Christ Church and its lychgate, Redcar Central station and the town clock.
A ground-level patio in a back yard or rear garden is usually permitted development even in a conservation area. What needs more care is the front: paving over a front garden of more than five square metres must be permeable or drain to a soft area, and removing a front boundary wall in a conservation area can need consent. If your home is listed, any work affecting its setting should be checked with the council first. We will tell you at the visit if anything on your plan needs a closer look.
What affects the cost in Coatham
We give a quote after seeing the space. In Coatham the main factors are:
- Access. Carrying materials through a terraced house takes longer than a back-lane delivery.
- Clearance. Old concrete and flags have to be broken out and taken away.
- Ground. Loose blown sand needs a membrane, a proper sub-base and firm edges.
- Drainage. Enclosed yards often need a gully, channel or soakaway.
- Material. Porcelain, concrete slabs and sandstone differ in price and cutting time.
- Walls and beds. Rebuilding a low wall or adding a raised bed adds time.
Places next to Coatham
- Dormanstown patio page: South: a 1917-20 garden village of semi-detached homes.
- Marske-by-the-Sea patio page: East along the coast: a village High Street and newer estates.
- New Marske patio page: South-east: a hillside former mining village with modern estates.
Pages that suit Coatham yards: porcelain patios, patio slabs and paving, garden walls.
All places we cover: areas page.
Asked about patios in Coatham
My Coatham house has no back lane. Can you still do the patio?
Yes. Materials come through the house in bags and are carried by hand. We sheet the floors and plan the job so the route is used as little as possible.
Will a patio on Coatham's sandy ground sink?
Not if the base is built properly. A membrane, a compacted stone sub-base and restrained edges stop the sand moving under the slabs.
Is natural stone a bad idea this close to the sea?
Not always, but salt air can mark some sandstones over time. Porcelain and good concrete slabs need less upkeep near the coast. We bring samples to the visit.
I am in the conservation area. Do I need permission for a back-yard patio?
Usually not for a ground-level patio at the back. Front garden paving and boundary walls are where conservation area rules tend to apply.
Sources: ONS Census 2021 TS044, Coatham ward (Nomis); Wikipedia: Coatham; Planning Data: conservation areas; Planning Data: listed buildings; BGS Geology Viewer; Environment Agency Flood Map for Planning.