Permeable paving

You can get flood protection, preparation and insurance at GOV.UK.

Permeable paving

The installation of sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) can assist in reducing the amount of surface water which runs off from a property and has the potential to reduce a significant amount of the risk associated with local surface water flooding when the benefits from several individual properties having such measures in place are combined.

 

In addition to reducing the amount of surface water running off into the highway, and thereby reducing the risk of flooding nearby to the property, SuDS help to reduce the amount of surface water entering into the public sewer network. This reduces the chances of drains and sewers from reaching their capacity sooner, which would otherwise result in surface water flooding through water coming back out of highway gullies. In certain areas the public sewer network, maintained by Thames Water Utilities Ltd. across London, includes older-style 'combined' sewers where foul and surface water drain into the same pipe rather than being separated. If these combined systems were to overflow they would cause polluted water to flood local areas and into rivers and streams during periods of intense or continuous rainfall.

Find out if you need planning permission

Permeable paving for front gardens does not require planning permission to be granted, regardless of size, whereas paving with traditional non-permeable materials (which do not allow water to get into the ground or run to an adjacent permeable area to drain naturally) do require planning permission for areas greater than five square metres.

You can get further information about permeable paving of front gardens on GOV.UK.

Additional information on permeable paving is available via the online Planning Portal's Interactive House resource, along with other advice on what does or does not need planning permission.