There has some press coverage suggesting that garden decking is partly to blame for flooding in the UK. This is a complex issue and clearly reducing the area available for drainage can't be helpful. But there are ways you can still get the decking area you always wanted, but also be mindful of the environment.

Plan your garden

The simplest solution to decking drainage would be to not cover too much of your gardens surface area with paving or decking. Or to set up a system to collect the water from your decking into a water butt.

You can also slop the earth underneath your decking towards open ground, away from house walls. Installing french drains could be another solution.

Use porous concrete

When building garden paths or a hard standing for a greenhouse, shed or decking area, you may want to consider using porous concrete. This will allow better drainage under your decking area and will reduce the risk offlooding.

Improving your garden drainage

If your garden is often water logged or floods, then you need to think about drainage. The simplest solution is to plant shrubs and trees that like standing in wet soil. You should also make sure that the soil under your lawn is loose and you should add a layer of sand / grit before laying turf. This will maximise drainage in from your lawn area. If all else fails you may want to invest in a garden drainage system.