Looking Forward with Permeable Paving and SuDS

Australia Road Photo

During the forthcoming Flood Expo event, the trade association Interpave will be presenting an essential update on concrete block permeable paving for SuDS.

The Flood Expo is the world’s largest exhibition designed to help the most progressive flood professionals and property owners discover the latest innovative products, services and strategies that transform the way flooding is predicted, prevented and managed. The event will take place on September 11th and 12th at the NEC, Birmingham. Free tickets are available at www.thefloodexpo.co.uk.

Meeting regulatory requirements for SuDS on applications ranging from hard landscape to heavy industrial areas, concrete block permeable paving is now firmly established as a key SuDS technique. Interpave’s presentation by Dr Nick Gorst, in Theatre 25 on Thursday 12th September at 14.00, will demonstrate permeable paving’s successful long-term performance, minimal maintenance and cost-benefits over conventional paving and drainage. These strengths are exemplified by Interpave’s case study – freely available at Flood Expo – revisiting the influential Lamb Drove SuDS Monitoring project 13 years after completion.

Looking forward, the presentation will also explore new regulatory requirements, technical innovations and permeable paving applications for SuDS. In particular, the recently published Edition 7 of Interpave’s definitive guidance – ‘Design and Construction of Concrete Block Permeable Pavements’ – includes the latest permeable paving techniques such as enhanced, predictable water storage using flow controls with storage compartments, as well as overlays to existing road constructions. This latter technique proved key to the success of Bridget Joyce Square in London’s White City, ‘Winner of Winners’ (the President’s Award) at the 2017 Landscape Institute Awards.

Supported by The Environmental Agency, Flood Expo 2019 promises to be the most forward-thinking to date, housing 150 exhibitors, as well as 100 seminars from the world's leading flood experts. This event is entirely devoted to presenting strategies and ground-breaking technological solutions to widespread flooding problems. It will focus on development in flood management, the future of flood defence infrastructure, delivery of flood risk management, case studies of flood experiences, affordable and accessible flood defence measures and future flooding and erosion risks in the UK.