Block Paving

Hi Andrea, interesting info, i had no idea about all of this, gues this means a lot of block pavers will be going out of business, or have to direct there efforts, but to be honest find this quite suprising, the bit about causing floods i mean, as a lot of the time block paving is layed direct onto sand, does'nt have a concrete base like other types of paving do, also rarely 'pointed' inbetween blocks, so i would have thought the opposite, that this would actually increase drainage? other types of paving would have a concrete base, and pointing inbetween blocks/slabs etc, i would have though this to be more of a problem?

I wonder if this new regulation applies if just laying a few paving slabs to make a path, for instance, in a back garden by a shed.
I would hope the rule is meant for larger areas of paving.
Thanks, Andrea, for this useful update. :o)

I don't think it will mean people will go out of business as long as the people having the work done have gone through the correct procedure, as you say there are many ways to lay paving, block with sand, block with cement, slabs. I suppose the local authorities will have information on how the blocks/slabs should be laid and on what surface. I think even when the slabs or blocks are laid on sand after a while it all solidifies to a certain extent. I don't know the ins and outs of the new regulations, I just know that they are being implemented at some point. I shouldn't think that laying a small path next to a shed would need planning permission, but you know how these beurocrats work!!!! It is always worth checking!!

Yes, good point. Thanks.
You never know what strange rules have been thought up.:o)

Hi AndreaR, I was speaking to an Environmental Officer earlier in the year and he said exactly this. More areas of lawn are being covered by paving to create car parking areas etc. When it rains, the water runs straight off the block paving into the road, down the drains, into the rivers, times this by millions of households and hey presto flooding occurs. When there was more grassland and lawns the rain permeated the earth slowly so flooding wasnt so wide spread and yes, in our area, in future planning permission will be required for block paving - always best to check with your local authority before doing anything these days.

The problem with any paved area is run-off. Even with block paving laid on sand, the water will run off faster than it can drain between the pavers. A road close to me has four houses in a row with either concrete or block paving over their entire front gardens; every time we have moderate rain, the road floods

Garden Design Journal Nov 08 issue 76, page 10.

"From Oct 08, new legislation came into place requiring homeowners to obtain planning permission before installing a non-permeable surface in front gardens.

The legislation has been introduced after the Government identified a need to manage surface water run-off more effectively in built up areas to prevent the over filling of mains drainage- two-thirds of the 2007 floods are thought to have been caused by significant amounts of water overwhelming drainage systems.

At present, the new legislation appears only to affect new and extended gardens and driveways at the front of a property, adjacent to the road.

Back gardens are not affected."

Thought you might find this interesting, came across it last month.

Great, this has shed a bit more light on it, I suppose if any of us are going to attempt any paving over the next few years we need to go to our local authority planning department first to find out if what we have planned effects the new legislation. There is no point trying to rad a statute, it is written so only lawyers can understand it and even then it makes my head spin!!!!!

~ you can still do it if the paving is porous which will prevent run off~ how easy it is to get the right kind I don't know~ this is on a website for someone installing drives.
Do I have to use permeable paving?
Not necessarily. Thankfully, the legislation and the accompanying Guidance Document took heed of the comments submitted by the industry and has expanded its original plan which mentioned only "permeable or porous paving", and now any surface is permitted on the condition that it drains "to a permeable or porous area or surface within the curtilage of the dwellinghouse", which means a soakaway, rain-garden or other suds installation located within the grounds of the property. Consequently, it will be possible to have macadam, PIC, resin-bonded surfacing or any other surfacing as long as it drains to ground and does not discharge onto the public highway or directly into the domestic drains.

Thanks for this extra information on above comments.
Glad to know I can pave around my back garden shed with a clear conscience. :o)