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| Disappearing front gardens - the Rite Pave solution |
| Many of us rightly worry about vanishing rainforests and the impacts of global warming, but all too often we ignore environmental problems on our doorstep. Look down any suburban street and you will probably see where slices of an important urban resource have already gone: front gardens. A recent investigation by the RHS into our ‘disappearing front gardens’ has revealed some frightening statistics about the decline of the ‘front garden’ in many parts of the country.. In recent years, increased car ownership and building development pressures have led to a decline in front gardens. These small oases are often being replaced by hard surfaces for car parking. Covering gardens over with cement or tarmac can change the microclimate of your street making it dry, dusty, windy and noisy. |
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Rainwater will run off the surface quickly without being able to soak into the ground, resulting in more flooding. But environmentalists, and water companies, are against the trend claiming it adds to the problem of flooding when rainfall runs off into man-made underground drains instead of soaking away naturally. Councils such as that in Leicester are advising residents to keep their front gardens 'green'.. The run-off in turn can flood out of manholes in roads, private connecting drains in properties and then flood gardens and even homes with foul water which contains unteated sewage. The drive to concrete over front gardens to provide a parking space can be seen to be destroying nature's natural drainage system, which leads to flash flooding.
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This is a scenario,until recently, could have been put down to environmental hype, with little hard evidence, but research by the London Assembly has now revealed that more than 30sq km (12sq miles) of front gardens have been turned into car parking in the capital alone, equivalent to more than 20 times the size of Hyde Park.
As well as softening a house’s overall appearance, front gardens can help keep the surroundings cool. Plants transpire large quantities of water as they grow, which is drawn from the soil and evaporates from their foliage. The water vapour they give off helps cools the air, which in built-up areas particularly helps regulate temperatures.
By contrast, hard surfaces such as brick and concrete absorb heat during day and give it off at night, raising evening temperatures and making it more difficult to sleep in summer. This is known as the urban heat-island effect, by which city temperatures can rise up to 10°C (50°F) above the surrounding countryside. Higher temperatures tend to make poor air quality even worse, particularly photochemical smogs. Indirectly, the heat-island effect can worsen the symptoms of asthma, and increased temperatures are also associated with adverse local weather such as thunderstorms. These effects can only be made worse with the loss of the ameliorating effects of urban green spaces.
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A handy car parking space - but not so good for the environment.
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These problems apply to many other areas such as temporary access routes, roof tops, all of which contribute to rising temperatures and increasing flood zones. The solution to these problems is to use a porous surface which will retain water and allow it to gradually release into the drainage systems – and which will also absorb heat much more and reduce the ‘hot spots’ so damaging to the environment.
Rite-Pave is designed as a long term solution – providing a porous support system which holds earth, grass or gravel.
It is manufactured from 100% recycled HDPE and Rite-Pave products are designed to easily join together to form a structure which can absorb thermal expansion within itself. The design is perfect for supporting healthy grass growth within the cell. |
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