NEW REGULATIONS FOR DRIVES
Driveway legislation
Introduction
The permitted development rights that allow householders to pave over their front garden for a hard standing without planning permission have changed. Planning permission is now required to lay traditional impermeable driveways that allow uncontrolled runoff of rainwater from front gardens onto roads, because this can contribute to flooding and pollution of water courses.
If a new driveway or parking area is constructed using permeable surfaces, such as permeable concrete block paving, or if the water is otherwise able to soak into the ground you will not require planning permission. The new rules will also apply where existing hard standings are being replaced. The new rules apply to hard surfaces exceeding 5m² in area.
Although the new legislation promotes the use of permeable products it also permits the use on non permeable concrete block paving without the need for planning permission, providing drainage/soak away is provided for surface run off water within the boundaries of the property. I.e. must not drain on to the road.
permeable paving how it works ?
Using permeable block paving like Marshalls (priora) It is designed with a space between the blocks that allow water to run down and through a 50mm laying course of 6mm clean crushed stone below. There is then 200mm of 20mm clean crushed stone below this which allows water passes through into the ground below.
Alternative options.
As a alternative to using permeable paving it is possible to make the water to run of into a planter / gravel area to allow the water to filter into the ground naturally.
Likewise is the use of a sokaway which can run from a slotted type drain through a pipe into catchment area and then filters into the ground naturally there is various ways of doing this the above picture shows this been done and piped into a Aquacell system and then dispursed into the ground to soak away naturally.
