Front Gardens help turn our towns and cities into green and pleasant places to be, yet many are being ‘paved over’ to provide parking for the millions of cars we own in Great Britain. Recent research has shown that almost a quarter of the front gardens in the North-East are now completely paved over. It is estimated that the capital’s losses are equal to the area covered by 5,200 football pitches. With few planning controls to prevent front gardens disappearing, it is up to everyone to think carefully before creating a driveway.

Paving over our front garden might seem of little consequence, but the difficulties only start when neighbours on both sides of the street do the same – effectively tripling the width of the road. But how many of us are really swapping our patches of green for the hard stuff?

When the London Assembly examined the aerial photographs of the capital, it found that 12 square miles of front gardens are now under paving. This is the equivalent of 22 Hyde Parks. Surely if this had been a real park that had been lost, there would be a huge public outcry?

The precise rate at which front gardens are being lost is not yet known. The only records to provide any clues are local council planning applications for dropped kerbs – i.e. lowering the kerb so vehicles can cross the pavement to their driveways. In London alone, nearly 120,000 such applications have been made over the last 5 years. Even these numbers just provide a guide as some people illegally drop kerbs and others use ramps to get cars into their garden.

Paving over front gardens is certainly a fact of life in many urban areas and the effects are cumulative, which means they’re likely to become more noticeable in the future.

Why is this a concern? First and foremost, it is the part hard surfaces play in causing environmental problems, and increasing the risk of flooding is top of the list. Gardens soak up rain, while paving, tarmac and concrete are less porous and increase the amount of rainwater that runs off by as much as 50 percent.

This additional water usually flows into street drains which can’t always cope with the thousands of extra litres in a storm. The excess water can then go up people’s front drives which then, in extreme cases leads to flooding of their homes.

With many of Britain’s streets already becoming concrete deserts, even if people have to park their car on their front gardens to provide ‘off street’ parking, they should at least fit in a small shrub or tree to help the environment.

In most UK cities rainwater run-off mixed with any pollution it picks up along the way, is channelled into storm drains and ultimately rivers. However, rather than heading straight for the natural watercourses, London’s rain goes into the sewerage system, which can’t always process the surge of water. In an emergency the excess has to be jettisoned into rivers. In one incident in 2004, more than 100,000 fish were killed in the River Thames.

Thames Water also backs up this claim. According to some recent surveys, recent flooding incidents may be linked to rainwater running off non-porous surfaces such as tarmac and concrete straight into drains and rivers instead of sinking through the soil and into the ground.

A well-kept lawn can mean a lot of hard work and if people want to park their cars on their front gardens, natural grass isn’t really an option. Now you can just fake it, because there is now an easy lawn mower-free way to get that forever green look.

Purist gardeners won’t approve, but artificial lawns are really taking off. Artificial surfaces have really come of age over the last few years and can now offer a real alternative to people who have found it impossible to keep a natural lawn looking good all year round, and because of the sub-base construction under the surface, it means parking your car on your front ‘lawn’ is now an option.

“Aimed at people with little or no time to spend gardening, we’ve noticed a real up-turn in sales”, commented Greg Hill, Managing Director or Leicester based Sow Green. “Astroturf as it has become commonly known has come a long way since the eighties with memories of those skin burns caused by the harsh abrasive surfaces a thing of the past. Fortunately, technology has moved on since those dark times and the long, lush textures of today’s synthetic yarns not only feel soft but replicate both the colour and texture of real blades of grass”, he said.

With or without the rain, they will keep the garden looking fresh – and are guaranteed to keep the neighbours guessing. You can even have realistic mower-type strips and have the smell of freshly cut grass!

“Demand has soared as droughts and floods ruin natural lawns. There are always going to be people who haven’t the time or don’t want to spend the time maintaining their gardens or find it difficult because of the weather or are looking for a different option so that they can keep their garden and also park their car”, says Mr. Hill. “It will be a bit of a comprise for those purist gardeners amongst us, but it is much better to lay an artificial lawn than pave over with concrete or tarmac as water can soak through the surface into the soil rather than sit on the surface or flow into already over-worked drains.”

Attractive front gardens have benefits for people too. They provide screening and privacy, creating a green oasis for enjoyment. Tending your garden at the front of your house gives neighbour’s the opportunity to meet and can help to build community spirit.

There are also financial incentives for keeping your front garden looking lush and green. If lots of homeowners along a single street pave over their gardens, the average house price can drop. Leafy streets attract buyers and make the area more desirable.

The other costly issue is subsidence. Hard paving can cause severe subsidence as it reduces or stops rainfall into the ground. This can cause the soil to shrink, especially if it is predominantly clay, which has consequences for structures built on it such as garden walls, paths and in some cases, house may develop severe cracks.

This still leaves the issue of convenience. Parking close to the house can be particularly important if you are vulnerable or disabled. And pressure on parking in most urban streets is great, particularly when many households now have more than one car.

If you decide that you still need to park outside your house and want a green lush looking lawn, then artificial is definitely the way forward.

“Our normal Sowgreen installation would be required, however rather than just stripping off approx 1” of the turf we would take out a little more of the turf and soil (an extra inch) therefore removing 2
” in total. We would then back fill with 1” of hardcore/stone and then fit Sowgreen as normal.

This would improve the drainage and give a solid enough base onto which to park a car. The area where the tyres are stationary may flatten the Sowgreen carpet over time. However this is purely cosmetic and can be quickly rectified by bushing the area” says Mr. Hill.

Front gardens bring so much colour into our lives – who prefers to look at concrete?

Sow Green Limited. Standards Hous
Meridian East Meridian Business Park Leicester LE19 1WZ
Tel: +44 (0) 8702 400700
Fax: +44 (0) 8702 400701
Email: sales@sow-green.co.uk
Web: www.sow-green.co.uk