Huge fears Sadiq Khan is plotting to copy major city with plan to tax driveways

People who pave over their front gardens could be hit with a new fine if a new proposal gets the green light.

A report commissioned by the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has suggested that one way to tackle localised flooding is to slap a charge on those who have no natural run-offs in their gardens such as grass because it's been used to create driveways.

The London Climate Resilience Review (LCRR) has urged Keir Starmer's new Labour government to consider introducing "stormwater charges".

Mr Khan ordered the review following flash floods in 2012 and the 2022 heatwave warning of a "lethal risk" to Londoners.

One recommendation is to discourage people from paving over their gardens - as the amount of permeable land in England has plummeted.

An additional fee, says the report, could be charged to householders to manage excess flooding in areas with less permeable land. Melbourne in Australia already operates a similar scheme.

The report said: "As more people are angered by their neighbours adding to local flood risk, one solution could be charging people based on the surface area of the land they own that is impermeable," reports MailOnline.

"This would not only raise much-needed revenue to mitigate risks, but also disincentivise paving over gardens and other green spaces."

Emma Howard Boyd, the chair of the review, said the charge would be to "encouraging people to do the right things for the environment" rather than penalising them, reports The Guardian.

She added: "We looked at what has worked in other parts of the world.

"We have concreted over too many areas – we need to stop creating a city where we have so much hard surface when what we need are spongier ways of absorbing water."

A spokesperson for the Mayor of London said: "The Mayor is not going to introduce a drainage charge in London. The independent Climate Resilience Review set out a number of proposals the Government could look at to reduce the risk of surface water flooding in London and across the country.”

Mr Khan also said: “I welcome this review, which I commissioned after seeing first-hand during recent years how extreme weather can devastate communities, ruin businesses and end lives.

"I accept the recommendations made to City Hall, and we will work to take forward the recommendations over the coming months, working with our new national Government, local councils, businesses and London's communities.

"We do not have a moment to waste."