in conjunction with raingardens , tree-pits or proprietary systems avoiding air pipes , reservoirs or other structures for irrigation and gas exchange .
Minimal Maintenance Permeable paving can be laid level and still avoids puddles without the need for drainage gulleys . It provides a safe , firm , pot-hole free surface for everyone – including wheelchair users and people pushing prams . Over two decades of experience in the UK demonstrates the long-term performance of concrete block permeable paving with minimal , if any , maintenance .
A new case study on regeneration projects in Tottenham , London , exemplifies the growing potential of concrete block permeable paving in the hands of innovative designers to deliver SuDS and optimise synergy with street trees to address climate change . It includes a concrete block permeable paved adopted highway that also accepts runoff from impermeable surfaces .
Low Intervention Retrofit Another important innovation – particularly for regeneration – is the retrofitting of CBPP as an overlay to existing , conventional road bases or other hard surfaces . These thin overlays create attractive , safe and sustainable shared-surfaces .
They can be particularly effective when used to supply a gradual flow of clean water horizontally into raingardens or bioretention areas with trees and other green infrastructure , via simple slot inlet / outlets , to store water for irrigation and biodiversity , as well as flood prevention . Such low-intervention techniques enable transformation
– an exemplar for future urban landscapes . The basins provide water storage ( in place of the paving sub-base ) for SuDS to reduce overloading existing drains , as well as for irrigation .
Innovative concrete block overlay paving collects , conveys and cleans rainwater for tree-planted basins at Bridget Joyce Square , London
At Love Lane , Tottenham , structural tree pits connect road-narrowing tree planters on each side , based on the ‘ Stockholm Solution ’. Image courtesy of Robert Bray Associates .
This paving incorporates structural tree pits , based on the ‘ Stockholm Solution ’, to enable trees to benefit from rainwater collected from an extended catchment , making them healthier and more resilient to drought . At Broad Lane Square in south Tottenham the same designers take forward these principles with ‘ inverted raingardens ’ protect existing trees and new green infrastructure , supplied with a gradual supply of clean water from extensive permeable paving catchments . of the public realm in response to the raft of recent active travel , low traffic and open space initiatives .
This approach is exemplified in Bridget Joyce Square , London , an important regeneration project which won the top prize at the 2017 Landscape Institute Awards . Here , a typical , adopted asphalt street and adjacent parking areas were transformed for community use with CBPP overlay shared surfaces and tree-planted raingarden basins
Well-established Green Infrastructure Interpave revisited the project in August 2021 , around 5 years after completion , and noted that trees and other green infrastructure were healthy , substantial and particularly well-established . The permeable paving is also performing well and , it is understood from local sources , experienced no problems during recent extreme summer storms , despite extensive flooding nearby .
For project case studies and guidance on all aspects of permeable paving and SuDS visit : www . paving . org . uk
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