At Home with Sarah Beeny Autumn 2015 - 347

DRIVEWAYS

ith more and more people owning
cars, all new homes now need to
provide an off-road parking space.
But for those without the luxury of
a dedicated parking space, what do
you do? Lots of people create a
secure parking area by choosing the
most practical option, which often
means replacing the front garden with hard surfacing, such
as concrete, tarmac or the like.
But while replacing your garden with hard standing
may be giving you somewhere to park your car, it can
also cause a lot of problems. Paving over gardens leads
to an increased risk of flooding. The drains in most urban
areas were built many years ago and were not designed to
cope with increased rainfall. These days, more water is
entering the drains due to global warming from new
developments and by paving over front gardens, the
problem is simply being made even worse.
Although paving over one or two gardens may not seem
to be likely to make a difference, the combined effect of
lots of people in a street or area doing this can increase the
risk of flooding. The Environment Agency released the
correlation between front gardens being lost and the

W

'CONCRETE OR TARMAC
MAY SEEM AN EASY
SOLUTION, BUT THERE
ARE MORE ECO-FRIENDLY
OPTIONS TO CONSIDER'
serious flood risk this caused and acted swiftly to negate
the problem. In 2008, the law changed and property
owners are now required to seek planning permission
for the installation of driveways.
'I really think people should think twice before
concreting or tarmacing over their front gardens,' says
Sarah Beeny. 'A lot of people just think about their
parking space and don't think this issue will affect
them, but it will - and in not very much time at
all you've got a major problem. As soon as
you concrete over you'll get flooding issues
a nano-second later. There are much
better choices available now.'
The harm caused by paving over
gardens is not just limited to flooding.
Hard surfaces such as concrete and
asphalt collect pollution like oil, petrol and
brake dust, which can be washed off into
the drains. Many drains carry rainwater

directly to streams or rivers where the pollution damages
wildlife and the wider environment.
In older areas the rainwater may go into the foul water
sewer which normally takes household waste from
bathrooms and kitchens to the sewage treatment works.
These overflow into streams and rivers in heavy rainfall.
As more water runs into foul sewers from paved areas
there are more frequent overflows, passing untreated
sewage into watercourses.
Not only that, but getting rid of plants and hedgerows
in your garden is affecting the native wildlife, as wild birds
and insects have nowhere to call home.
So what's the answer? Well here are some of the ways
you can create a parking space without having to
compromise on ecological issues.

ON TRACK

There's no need to have a big square to park on. A
driveway can be created with just two paved tracks where
the wheels go, of around 300-600mm each. These can be
surfaced with blocks, left natural or gravel, but to provide
a durable construction they should have sub-base below.
The area between and around the tracks can be planted
with grass or suitable low growing plants such as sedums.
However, make sure water can drain from the tracks into
the surrounding permeable area.

STONES OR CHIPPINGS

These are the most cost effective permeable
choice for driveways. The cheapest is
shingle-type stones, but because these
are small they tend to move about a lot.
To stop this happening, lay them on
a plastic honeycomb type grid which will
provide stability and keep your driveway
looking neat and tidy. The best size for
driveways is an aggregate with a nominal
size of 20mm to 40mm. You can choose
an aggregate to suit, from buff chippings,
to recycled rubber or even crushed shells. >

www.athomemagazine.co.uk NOVEMBER 2015 | 47
At Home with Sarah Beeny Autumn 2015

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