{"id":710186,"date":"2026-05-22T12:22:17","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T10:22:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nidaplast.com\/parking-permeable-collectivites-villes\/"},"modified":"2026-05-29T15:06:35","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T15:06:35","slug":"permeable-car-park-cities-councils-paving-systems","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nidaplast.com\/en\/permeable-car-park-cities-councils-paving-systems\/","title":{"rendered":"Permeable Car Parks in Cities: Why Local Authorities Are Adopting Paving Systems and Cellular Slabs"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Urban surfaces are becoming less and less able to absorb rainfall. Car parks are a significant part of the problem: according to CEREMA, parking surfaces account for an average of 15 to 20% of all impervious surfaces in urban areas. As climate change intensifies the frequency and severity of storm events, local authorities and developers across Europe are rethinking how car parks are designed and built. Permeable paving systems \u2014 whether traditional pervious pavers or cellular paving slabs \u2014 are increasingly central to that rethink.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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The Regulatory Context Driving Change<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Urban car park design is now directly shaped by European and national water management legislation. At European level, the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD)<\/strong> requires member states to achieve good ecological and chemical status for all water bodies \u2014 a commitment that has progressively tightened requirements on impervious surface runoff across the continent.<\/p>

In the United Kingdom and Ireland<\/strong>, the approach is built around Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS)<\/strong>. SuDS are now mandatory for most new developments in Wales under Schedule 3 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010, and are strongly required in England through the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). Scotland’s planning framework similarly requires SuDS as a default for new developments. The primary technical reference is the CIRIA SuDS Manual (C753)<\/strong>, which defines performance standards for permeable pavement systems, runoff coefficients and long-term maintenance protocols. In Ireland, the EPA and OPW guidance on sustainable drainage aligns closely with the SuDS framework.<\/p>

For public procurement, UK authorities will typically reference SuDS compliance in their outline planning conditions and drainage strategy documents \u2014 both of which a permeable cellular system such as the OCITY PAV65 is designed to satisfy.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tView the OCITY PAV65 Environmental Product Declaration (EPD)<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Stormwater Management: The Primary Technical Driver<\/span><\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The main reason local authorities and developers opt for permeable surfacing on car parks is direct, measurable stormwater performance. A conventional asphalt or concrete car park generates a runoff coefficient of 0.85 to 0.95 \u2014 meaning 85 to 95% of rainfall flows off the surface. That runoff must be collected, stored, and released at a controlled rate, requiring costly downstream infrastructure: detention basins, swales, soakaways, and pipe networks.<\/p>

A permeable cellular system \u2014 such as the OCITY PAV65 slab \u2014 significantly reduces that runoff load.<\/p>

With a measured permeability of more than 5.33 \u00d7 10\u207b\u00b3 m\/s (CERIB protocol 353.E_v2<\/a>), water infiltrates directly through the surface structure, eliminating or substantially reducing the need for downstream attenuation. For a local authority, that translates into direct capital savings at construction, reduced land take for drainage infrastructure, and lower long-term maintenance costs \u2014 no basin to desilt, no overflow structures to inspect.
See our article on runoff coefficients for permeable paving for a detailed technical breakdown.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Adapting to New Mobility Demands<\/span><\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Car parks built under 1990s design standards were not conceived to support today’s mobility requirements. Local authorities now face three new demands on their parking stock.<\/p>