Under the background of increasing flooding events in recent years, the UK government is placing a greater emphasis on managing surface water using sustainable drainage systems (SuDS). Since April 2015, Local Planning Authorities have a statutory duty of enforcing SuDS for new developments where applicable.

In general, SuDS strategies are required for the major developments, as defined in the Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2015, where:

• the number of dwellings to be provided is 10 or more
• the development of dwellings is to be carried out on a site having an area of 0.5 hectares or more
• the provision of a building or buildings where the floor space to be created by the development is 1,000 square metres or more, or development carried out on a site having an area of 1 hectare or more

For small development of less than 10 dwellings, SuDS reports are required for those located in areas at risk of flooding or in areas with critical drainage problems. However we have recently seen an increasing number of small developments requiring SuDS reports even though they are not located in areas with flooding or drainage issues. This is particularly the case for small sites with an increase in impermeable areas. Some local planning authorities are even demanding SuDS reports for extensions because of the so-called “Urban Creep” effect.

We have undertaken SuDS design for many projects, which range from single dwellings to large residential and commercial developments with more than 300 units. We have successfully helped our clients to obtain planning permissions by addressing issues from the Environment Agency and Local Planning Authorities in a robust and methodological manner.

We are here to help you to speed up your planning applications. Our initial phone consultations are always free, please call 01279 862447, or visit our website at the early design stage for initial advice.