SITE PREPARATION STRUCTURAL COMPONENTS


Growing awareness of the importance of permeable paving in the fight against flooding means increasingly robust enforcement by local authorities in the light of climate change


rainwater to filter through grit-filled joints between the blocks to store the water for a short time, and rain gardens – where conventional paving simply drains to a landscaped depression, maybe with plants, to hold water.


In both systems, water is held back on your property during heavy storms to avoid flooding and filtered to remove or trap pollution. What happens next depends on the ability of the ground to absorb water known as permeability’ and whether you want to recycle the rainwater.


MAKING THE MOST OF PERMEABLE PAVING There is a wide choice of products available from manufacturers specifically for permeable paving, with more shapes, styles, finishes and colours than ever. They have the same performance as conventional concrete blocks and


slabs slip resistant, durable, strong and sustainable. The difference with permeable paving is joints filled with stone grit – but never sand like conventional block paving or mortar. This ensures that water will continue to pass through the joints over many years. Concrete block permeable paving can be laid level and still avoids puddles without the need for drainage gullies and pipes. It provides a safe surface for everyone, unlike gravel and other loose material. It can also provide a gradual supply of clean water to planting – particularly trees. In fact, it works in harmony with trees allowing air, as well as water, to reach tree roots, so that they grow downwards and don’t damage the paving over time.


Chris Hodson is a consultant to the trade body Interpave


30 www.sbhonline.co.uk


jan/feb 2023


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