Don't Be Caught Out by the New Front Garden / Driveway Legislation
With the average household in Britain currently owning two or more cars, it's no surprise that we are constantly striving for that elusive extra parking space - in the garage, on the driveway, we even concrete over our front lawns to give us an extra space! Keeping the car off the road also significantly lowers insurance premiums, so most families make sure their driveway is as usable as possible.
A survey last year by the Horticultural Trade Association showed that an attractive front garden however can add up to £5,000 to the value of a property - yet nearly half of all estate agents thought most homeowners didn't make the most of their frontages.
Flooding in urban areas is a growing worry, especially for policy- makers. The problems caused by increasingly erratic rainfall have been made worse by a sharp rise, particularly in London, in the numbers of front gardens that have been paved over to provide off-road parking. By one estimate, two-thirds of the capital's gardens - which amounts to an area the size of 22 Hyde Parks - are already at least partially paved over, greatly increasing the load on London's often creaky drainage infrastructure.
However since October 2008, any householder wishing to pave over an area of front garden greater than 5sq m, or to replace existing hard standing, must seek planning permission. This involves submitting an application form, scale plans and a fee of £150 to the local planning authority. Decisions are usually made within eight weeks. So far this law only applies in England, however, any form of surfacing that retains rainwater within the curtilage of the property is exempt from this requirement.
The RHS and Environment Agency have together drafted suggestions for alternative surfacing. While these take many forms, they basically boil down to either letting rainwater flow through the surface or allowing it to run off, but still dealing with it within the garden.
Permeable or porous surfacing: At its simplest, this can consist of grass reinforced with plastic mesh or a concrete lattice to prevent rutting - although even hard-wearing turf mixes will struggle if cars are parked for long periods. Gravel underlaid with a porous sub-base and membrane provides another low-cost option. Unlike conventional block paving, slab paving and other impermeable surfaces which sit on a standard sub base, porous blocks sit on an, open grade sub base, known as 4/20 or Type 3, designed to absorb and retain higher volumes of water.
Impermeable surfaces: Run-off can be minimised by paving only narrow strips of 30-60cm for cars to park on. Again, any planting such as turf between the strips may suffer if cars are to be parked for long periods. For larger paved areas, thought needs to be given to dealing with the run-off on-site. This can take the form of soakaways adjacent to the paved area. Alternatively, water can be harvested in under-soil tanks for later use.
If you are still not convinced by using a porous material on you driveway, consider that non-porous materials increase rainwater run-off by 50 per cent, which then has to flow into drains, which could overflow and flood. Non-porous materials also stop rain from soaking into the ground, which makes the ground dry and can cause subsidence. But don't let this put you off having a driveway - off-street parking can add thousands to the value of your property and is a useful, safe space for your car. Just make sure you are sticking to the new laws and using porous driveway materials!
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