Formpave host high-level SuDS summit
Permeable paving specialists welcome Baroness Parminter to Coleford manufacturing facility
FORTERRA’s permeable paving experts Formpave recently welcomed leading advocates of Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS), including Baroness Parminter, the Liberal Democrat deputy leader in the House of Lords and Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, to their Coleford facility in Gloucestershire to discuss the future of SuDS.
Baroness Parminter, who tabled an amendment on SuDS legislation in the House of Lords earlier this year, was among the guests given a tour of the plant by Formpave’s operations manager, Chris Parker, followed by a visit to a successful installation of the company’s Aquaflow permeable paving system at a nearby development.
Baroness Parminter said: ‘This was a really useful visit and we appreciated the work Formpave’s team went to. We are seeking to boost awareness of SuDS on a national and local level as the threat of flooding increases, and permeable paving can be an important element of these systems.’
Other guests included Mark Harris, planning and policy Advisor for the Home Builders Federation in Wales, and Phil Chatfield, water policy advisor with the Welsh Government, which is currently looking at encouraging greater use of SuDS for new developments.
Dr Paul Ellis, innovation director for reports and data provider GeoSmart Information, who also attended the visit, said: ‘It was a valuable day spent with the Baroness demonstrating how SuDS make sense for communities and for holistic flood-mitigation strategies at a more local level.’
The tour of the Coleford facility included a demonstration of Formpave’s ThermaPave, a SuDS capable of harvesting surface rainwater, which can then be used as the energy source for a ground source heat pump to provide energy-efficient heating and cooling for buildings, effectively turning paved areas such as car parks into energy centres.
Gary Williams, general manager of Formpave, said: ‘We’re leading the way in permeable paving systems that can work as part of SuDS, but we also need legislation to encourage the construction industry to make SuDS a priority.
‘We know Baroness Parminter and others in the public sector are pushing for this, and we want to support them in any way we can.’
