England’s long-promised overhaul of sustainable drainage rules is still waiting for a start date. In January 2026, Defra was asked in Parliament when Schedule 3 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 would come into force. Its written answer said the government remained strongly committed to sustainable drainage systems, pointing to changes made to the National Planning Policy Framework in December 2024, but gave no implementation date.
Schedule 3 would make sustainable drainage a legal requirement for new developments, approved by a dedicated body before construction could begin. Wales brought its version into force in 2019. In England, Defra announced in 2023 that it intended to make the change from 2024, but that has not happened, and drainage on new developments continues to be handled mainly through planning policy and conditions.
The Rule That Already Applies To Driveways
While the larger reform waits, a smaller rule has applied to homeowners in England since 2008, and it is frequently overlooked. Under permitted development rights, a new or replacement driveway in a front garden does not need planning permission if it uses a permeable surface, or if rainwater is directed to a lawn or border where it can soak away.
If the area being paved is more than five square metres and the surface is impermeable, with water running off onto the road or into the drains, planning permission is required. The rule was introduced because rainwater from hard surfaces adds to the volume reaching drains during heavy rain, which raises the risk of local flooding.
Permeable Options
Several common driveway surfaces can meet the requirement. Gravel is the simplest. Permeable block paving uses wider joints filled with fine aggregate so that water passes between the blocks into a sub-base designed to hold and release it slowly.
Resin surfaces need more care, because two very different products share the name. Resin-bound surfacing mixes aggregate and resin together before it is trowelled into place, leaving small voids through which water can drain. Resin-bonded surfacing scatters loose stone onto a layer of resin, and the result is not permeable. A resin-bound surface laid on an open, permeable base can satisfy the drainage rule. A resin-bonded one generally cannot without separate drainage.
The base matters as much as the surface. A permeable finish laid on compacted, impermeable ground will still shed water. Installers working on driveways, such as L Groundworks, which lays resin, block paving and drainage across Essex and Suffolk, typically treat the sub-base and the falls of the ground as part of the same design.
Why It Matters Beyond Planning
A wet winter following a dry summer can leave soil slow to absorb heavy rain, and water then runs over hard surfaces towards roads and homes. Driveways that drain properly reduce standing water at the front of a property and the load on drains and gullies nearby.
For homeowners, the practical steps are straightforward: check the size of the area, choose a surface that drains or plan where the water will go, and ask the installer how the base will be built. If in doubt, the local planning authority can confirm whether permission is needed.
When Schedule 3 finally arrives, it will mainly affect larger developments. For individual driveways, the 2008 rule already does much of the same work, as long as it is followed.
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