ROUND TABLE REPORT 23
COLLABORATION IS KEY Sue Illman of Illman Young landscape architects discusses the realities of SuDS with Matt Clutton of Cameron Homes
to discuss this important but specialist area – landscape architect Sue Illman is well known in the industry as a SuDS champion, and for engaging with construction sectors in her role as the Construction Industry Council’s Champion for Flood Mitigation and Resilience. She was also co-author of the SuDS Manual which CIRIA produces and updates, and is regarded as the ‘bible’ for designing such schemes.
The Environmental Protection Group (EPG) is a firm of engineers who specialise in ‘geo-environmental’ engineering, and its technical director, Steve Wilson, is, like Sue, a long-standing purveyor of practical SuDS solutions in a host of developments, and they both train construction industry professionals on design aspects of SuDS. From the housebuilder side, we were delighted to have Chris Carr return from our previous round table, having been promoted to FMB National President. He runs his own housebuilding company and was forthright in advocating for SME builders grappling with several acute business challenges currently, of which SuDS is just one. Our other housebuilder in attendance was Matt Clutton from Cameron Homes, a medium-sized firm building high- end developments across the Midlands and north; Matt combines engineering expertise with a housebuilder’s business outlook, and therefore could offer crucial practical insights. Martin Shaw is senior operations manager from Meadfleet, an open space management firm which acts as ‘landscape partner’ for housebuilders across the UK. He views SuDS from the operational side and helps residents engage with and understand what are potentially unfamiliar features in developments. From our sponsors we welcomed Ruth Clarke, innovation manager at Innovyze, which develops design modelling software to engineers and consultants working on SuDS schemes. Jamie Gledhill is technical engineering manager from Brett Landscaping, and was a strong advocate for permeable paving. Last but not least, Charlotte Markey, green urbanisation innovation manager at Polypipe, donated her expertise to the round table as a PhD researcher and promoted a wide-ranging ‘systems’ approach to getting SuDS right.
ADF JANUARY 2024
“Education [of customers] could sometimes be seen as lecturing, in this case it’s really positive” Chris Carr, FMB national president
The Debate The Government’s ‘Plan for Water’ has a stated aim to see “nature-based solutions used, where appropriate.” But what are the best SuDS strategies for housebuilders to take, in order to create the most appropriate schemes in each setting? Collaboration between architects, landscape architects, engineers, housebuilders and planning authorities is the key, but is achieving this an obstacle in itself?
The first session of the round table focused on the general objectives and benefits of SuDS, but quickly saw delegates delving into some of the obstacles (some of which may be imaginary!) for achieving holistic schemes. The attendees discussed the Four Pillars of SuDS; CIRIA’s core benefits, seen as ‘must-haves’ for installations to be deemed a success. Firstly, water quantity – tackling stormwater via slowing its progress as close to the source as possible, rather than removing water quickly from site using pipes. As a SuDS expert, landscape architect Sue Illman told the group, “the whole point about SuDS is to have a multiplicity of features, and that each one, particularly where they’re on the surface and involve planting, will by their nature slow that flow because the water will be intercepted as soon as it hits the ground.” She added: “The water has to filter through all the below-ground systems, stone, compost and soil, and everyday rainfall will stay in the ground and will probably never leave the site, and the peak flow is slowed.” The second Pillar is water quality – and “different parts do it differently,” explained Illman. “For example, a swale is a wet-dry system, the water goes through it, then it dries out, and this process metabolises the hydrocarbons from roads.” This is augmented by
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