''Greener alternatives'' to garden paving
Monday 06 Oct 2008 - 16:52:00
There are a number of ways to combat new rules that have made it difficult to concrete over front gardens, it has emerged.
According to the Sunday Times, an area the size of 5,200 football pitches has been lost in London due to people paving over their front garden to make way for parking.
However, new planning rules are set to make it harder for homeowners to cover more than five square metres of their front garden with a nonpermeable surface.
The newspaper suggests gravel as the easiest way to cover a drive while a "porous layer of geo-textile membrane underneath" will help to stop weeds breaking through.
It was also suggested that lightweight planters or a heavier Haddonstone planter could be filled with such plants as hollyhocks, poppies or thyme to add a dash of colour to the drive.
The Sunday Times reported that rainwater harvesters - including butts and underground tanks - will help to reduce the amount of rainwater that ends up in one''s garden in the first place.
Floods over the summer are reported to have cost the UK a total of £3 billion.
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