We are seeing many front gardens paved or tarmacked over. It is good to reduce on-street parking but residents should minimise the destruction for both the landscape and environmental impact. An unattractive frontage will lower the value of your property. Ensuring the front hedge is maintained is good but not enough: aim to retain as much of the front garden as is practical including a lawn area and borders. That is what a professional landscape designer would suggest for a village where the landscape strategy is to "conserve the rural character of the area". A driveway contractor might suggest just tiling the whole lot but that will look ugly.