Driveway Regulations
Regulations controlling the paving of front gardens was introduced in October 2008 to help alleviate the risk of flooding and pollution of water courses.
Some 5 million people live in high flood risk areas in the UK and during the floods which hit in the summer of 2007, over 57,000 homes were affected at an estimated £3bn in damage. The Environment Agency estimated that up to two-thirds of the floods were caused by surface water runoff overloading the drainage system.
A year on, we decided to survey consumers to find out whether they had seen any press reports about the legislation and whether they knew about permeable paving and SUDS. The survey we commissioned, entitled ‘Sustainable Drainage’, was conducted by YouGov during October 2009.
In the survey, 92% of respondents had not noticed recent press reports about the need to have planning permission for new (or replacement) driveways over 5 sqm.
Other key statistics returned by the survey included:
• 54% of surveyed adults have knowledge of the increased risk of flooding through factors such as climate change.
• Only 15% of surveyed adults have knowledge of sustainable drainage systems.
• The over 55 age group has a marginally higher awareness of news stories about the regulations, with the 25-43 age group having the least awareness (10% and 6% respectively).
Allowable options which do not require planning permission come under the wider category of Sustainable Drainage Systems (known as SUDS), which provide surface water management that replicates natural drainage patterns.
These include designs which take water away from sewers and drains, or permeable paving systems which let surface water drain straight into the ground. Planning permission is not required when using Brett’s permeable paving systems incorporating both block paving and aggregates, meaning a simple, legal and sustainable SUDS solution. To find out more click here.
More information about the regulations can be found by visiting http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/.