Patios for windy, exposed gardens in Hartlepool

How exposed is Hartlepool?

The Met Office's climate summary for North East England puts some numbers on what Hartlepool residents already know. Along the coast, gales occur on roughly 5 to 10 days a year, compared with fewer than 5 at low-lying inland places. Easterly winds often bring damp, dull weather and sea fret to coastal districts in spring and early summer.

There is good news too. The Met Office notes that coastal sites are, overall, the sunniest in the region, with more than 1,500 hours of bright sunshine a year on the coast. So the coast offers the light; the job is to take the edge off the wind.

Exposure varies a lot within the borough:

• The Headland juts out into the North Sea with wind and spray from several directions, though its walled yards give natural shelter.
• Seaton Carew faces the open sea, with salt spray reaching gardens near the front.
• Hart and Elwick sit on higher, open ground west of the town, where farmland gives the wind a long run.
• Estates such as Fens, Rift House and Throston are more sheltered by surrounding houses, but corner plots and gardens facing open space still catch gusts.

Siting the patio

Before choosing stone, stand in the garden on a breezy day and notice where it is calmest. A few principles help:

• Use the house. The lee of the house is often the most sheltered spot. In Hartlepool that depends on orientation: the RHS notes that UK prevailing winds come from the south-west, but in some places the priority is protection from cold north and easterly winds, which on this coast often bring the fret.
• Avoid gaps. Wind funnels between houses, through side passages and along gaps between garages. A patio placed right in front of a passage can be the windiest part of the garden.
• Corners are useful. Where an extension meets the house, or a boundary wall meets a garage, a corner patio is sheltered on two sides.
• Consider two areas. In bigger gardens, such as those in Elwick and Hart, a main patio by the house and a smaller sheltered seating spot elsewhere gives options as the wind changes.

Shelter that works

It seems logical to build a tall solid wall or fence, but the RHS explains that solid barriers are unsuitable for slowing wind, because they create damaging eddies on each side. Instead, an effective windbreak should be semi-permeable, ideally filtering 50 to 60 per cent of the wind.

Practical options around a patio:

• Slatted or hit-and-miss screens in timber or composite, with gaps between the boards
• Woven hurdles in willow or hazel, which the RHS gives as an example of a suitable porous fence
• Hedges and shrubs, which filter wind and look softer. The RHS lists coastal-tolerant plants including hawthorn, sea buckthorn, blackthorn and Elaeagnus × ebbingei
• A low wall with planting above, which combines a solid base for seating with a filtering layer on top

The RHS adds that a windbreak significantly reduces wind on its sheltered side for a distance of about ten times its height, and that it should be wider than the area it protects, or wrap around the sides, to stop wind slipping round the ends. A 1.8m screen can shelter a sizeable patio.

What you can build without permission

The Planning Portal explains that walls, fences and gates are normally permitted development up to 1m high next to a road or footpath, and up to 2m elsewhere. Higher structures need planning permission. In a conservation area, removing an existing wall can need consent, and in Hartlepool's Grange Conservation Area an Article 4 Direction brings garden boundaries facing a road or open space under planning control. Our guide to patio planning in Hartlepool explains more.

If a new wall is built on or against the boundary with a neighbour, GOV.UK explains that party wall rules may apply and notice may need to be given.

Raised patios are best avoided in exposed spots in any case: they lift you into the wind, and a platform over 30cm above the ground needs planning permission.

Building for the weather

Exposed patios take more punishment from wind-driven rain, salt and frost, so the build matters:

• Heavy, fully bedded paving. Every slab on a full mortar bed, with no hollow spots for water to collect and freeze
• Firm joints. Loose sand joints can be blown or washed out. We use a durable jointing compound or a strong mortar joint
• Dense materials. Porcelain and dense sandstone suit salt-exposed gardens on the Headland and at Seaton Carew. Our porcelain patios and Indian sandstone patios pages compare them
• Fall and drainage. Wind-driven rain still needs to run off quickly, away from the house
• Strong posts for screens. The RHS gives guidance on post size and spacing for artificial screens; fence posts on exposed plots need to be set deep in concrete

Our garden walls page covers building low walls and raised beds in brick or stone.

Furniture and finishing touches

• Choose heavier furniture, or furniture that folds and stores easily before a gale
• Avoid lightweight parasols on exposed patios; a fixed or wall-mounted shade is safer
• Store cushions in a box near the patio; sea air and fret leave them damp
• Use pots heavy enough not to blow over, or group them in the lee of a wall

Questions people ask