New driveway using impermeable blocks - new drainage laws?

NewBe

Getting some quotes on creating a new blockpaved driveway. Its a typical 1930's townhouse with door and path on oneside and garden area on the other side. The whole area is approx 8.5m x 4.5m.

Out of 4 builder's, only 1 mentioned a new law regarding surface water not allowed to cross the pathway into public drains?

I was advised the option of using permeable blocks is not personally recommended by him.

He suggested creating a 4m x 1m garden bed down one side of the driveway and using a linear grate along the front of the driway to redirect rain water to the garden bed - therefore keeping surface water within the property area.

I have looked through some of the planning info sites, but still unsure if this is allowed?

Can anyone with knowledge/experience please advise?

P.S. He has mentioned underground soak aways but advised against it as the ground underneath will mostly be clay.

WestonDave

In brief the planning rules now require you to obtain (which you will struggle to) full planning permission to put in a non permeable driveway over 5m square (which nearly everyone's will be!), unless the non permeable surface drains off to somewhere within the property that if can be absorbed and released slowly. The point is to avoid worsening flash flooding by having more and more hard surfaces giving quick run off into drains which mean the water hits streams and rivers very quickly.


We've therefore got exactly what your builder is suggesting albeit that due to the lie of our drive the grate only covers half of the boundary because the other half runs off directly towards our garden anyway. That feeds a pipe at the end which comes out under our hedge which will drink anything thrown at it.

NewBe

Thanks WestonDave. Do you know the rough size of your drive, and the dimension of the drainage area?

Just want to make sure the drainage area will be adequate to dispense all the water without overflowing.

I don't know how well these new regs are being policed because the other builder's had just finished driveway's for other people in the area and never mentioned the new laws. They were happy to pave over the entire area!

WestonDave

Firstly don't worry too much - no-one is going round slapping fines on people because a bit of water runs off your drive across the pavement. Even non permeable block paving sheds a fair amount of water down the joints. I suspect the only time my drain gets used is when the cars are being washed - which as that only happens on dry days isn't a problem for water entering the street drainage system!


I'd struggle to give you dimensions on my drive from memory but say about 9m x 4m which drains into a single linear grate drain which in turn goes into our back garden which is a reasonable size. However as I said, its actually reasonably hard to get water flowing off block paving - with ours if you want to hose the brake dust off after washing the car its quite hard work to get it to the edge.


In terms of policing - no-one is looking. If you are replacing an existing surface then no-one will ever look at it. If its a new drive with a new dropped kerb etc then it depends on your council's procedures - ours was you had to get an informal confirmation from the planning department that it didn't need planning permission (either due to drainage or due to conservation areas) which was on the basis of a drawing of the area showing the off drain. That then went to highways who couldn't give a stuff about the drainage as its not their problem - they were only worried about sightlines etc. That is why the others are doing it and not bothering - but if its an existing drive that is being recovered it doesn't count anyway.

bouicca21

Er, in my area they do police it - you can't get a dropped curb unless the council are satisfied your parking area complies with the new regs.

anotherbaldrick

We had a driveway laid with impermeable blocks but with sand bedding it drained just fine, even heaviest rain soaked away down the sand bedded joints.

Candy53

We built our drive with permeable slabs, but left a space down the middle, and filled it first with rubble, then brown gravel, and it drains the rain away lovely. Looks good too.



Candy

browneyedbazzi

NewBe wrote: »

I don't know how well these new regs are being policed because the other builder's had just finished driveway's for other people in the area and never mentioned the new laws. They were happy to pave over the entire area!

A lot of driveway firms won't mention it - they want the job so don't want to put any barriers in the way/complicate matters and they want it to be a quick and easy high profit job. It makes sense to them not to mention the regs since it'll be the property owner who has to deal with any enforcement in the future.

Stooby2

WestonDave wrote:

In terms of policing - no-one is looking. If you are replacing an existing surface then no-one will ever look at it.

Unless you've got a jobsworth neighbour in the road who just loves ringing the council about this sort of thing.

When we had our drive done, we had an "aco" type drain put in along the edge of the drive by the pavement, linked to a small soakaway under the drive.