Please consider our wrong-headed planning policies: covering over the ground and removing soil!!Although it is not Government policy we need to reverse or at least slow down the present policy of "build, build, build" in London. The infill and "improvement" of properties in London continues unabated and increases day by day the run-off of rain into sewers and the risk of flooding as rain is not allowed to soak into the ground locally as it used to be.The front garden which an owner-occupier concretes over to provide off-street parking and the excavated basement means less grass and less soil to absorb rain water.Multi-storey tower blocks have deep excavated foundations and concrete rafts to support the structure above, but less soil beneath to absorb the rain.The accelerating construction boom in London in the last 100 years has caused a very significant loss of (1) the natural soil surface and (2) the volume of soil underneath buildings to absorb rain water. The water table sinks, the rain water ends up in the drainage and river system, and the overall effect is to remove rain water from the natural environment where it belongs.Do we really want a parched and flooding Thames Valley? That is the direction in which we are heading.The National Trust has repeatedly published reports about poor water management in the UK. The most recent report from a coalition of environmental charities called "Blueprint for Water" which includes the NT and RSPB can be found here: http://www.wcl.org.uk/docs/Blueprint_scorecard_pressrelease_6Nov12.pdfI note that "Blueprint for Water" does not have on its board any local authorities, district councils, the GLA or the urban planning profession, yet their planning decisions have an extremely important impact on water management.The problems in London are only the most acute form of the same disease.
Una Hodgkins ● 4545d