INDUSTRY NEWS 5
SuDS to be required by law from 2024 on all new developments
Defra concludes a multi-agency review on sustainable urban drainage (SuDS) in UK residential schemes, recommending that SuDS be made a legal requirement on new developments.
are designed to reduce the impact of rainfall on new developments by using features such as soakaways, grassed areas, permeable surfaces and wetlands.” “Regulations and processes for the creation of sustainable drainage systems on new developments will now be devised,” said Defra, through the implementation of Schedule 3; this is expected during 2024. The review recommends that the legislation will be implemented “as written,” with approving bodies being either the unitary authority in each case, or if not present, the county council.
The ‘review for implementation of Schedule 3 to the Flood and Water Management Act 2010’ will compel housebuilders to introduce SuDS schemes on their builds, including nature-based approaches. In 2015 the Government decided to use the National Planning Policy Framework to provide qualifi ed SuDS guidance which only required it to be used on schemes over 10 units. However it has now U-turned away from this approach in favour of a legal mechanism. Defra said: “The recommendation to make sustainable drainage systems mandatory to new developments will reduce the risk of surface water ooding, pollution and help alleviate pressure on drainage and sewerage systems.”
In August 2020, a Government review looked at the arrangements for determining responsibility for surface water and drainage assets. In the introduction to its report, Defra added: “The Jenkins review suggested the planning-led approach alone is not working, recommending that non-statutory technical standards for sustainable drainage systems should be made statutory as ambiguity makes the role of the planning authority very diffi cult.” The review also found that “in general there were no specifi c checking regimes in place to ensure that SuDS had been constructed as agreed, leaving concerns about unsatisfactory standards of design and construction.”
Defra suggested that the priority would be to pursue nature-based approaches: “The new approach to drainage will ensure sustainable drainage systems
Environment Minister Rebecca Pow said: “Schedule 3 provides a framework for the approval and adoption of drainage systems, a sustainable drainage system approving body within unitary and county councils, and national standards on the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of sustainable drainage systems for the lifetime of the development.” She added that it makes the right to connect surface water runoff to public sewers “conditional upon the drainage system being approved before any construction work can start,” placing a further onus on housebuilders and developers.
SuDS expert and landscape architect Sue Illman of Illman Young welcomed the news: “The announcement by Defra sets the starting point for the full implementation of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010. The sustainable and more effective management of surface water is now essential, as the ongoing problem of ooding affects ever more communities.” Illman continued: “Applying this sustainable approach to (virtually) all new development is welcomed and long overdue; and can enable both greater biodiversity and improved water quality as part of an attractively designed landscape. England will also be able to learn from the experience of Wales, who have already implemented the Act.”
The Government will now consider how Schedule 3 will be implemented, subject to “fi nal decisions on scope, threshold and process,” while also “being mindful of the cumulative impact of new regulatory burdens on the development sector.” This will include a public consultation later this year, which will collect views on the impact assessment, national standards and statutory instruments.
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Secretary of State for Environment Thérèse Coffey, endorsed natural SuDS approaches to managing the challenges. “The increasing demand for housing water and sewerage must be met in a sustainable way and support our natural environment. I think we need to go further and fully embrace nature-based solutions.”
CABE members say knowledge on Regs has deteriorated
According to a recent survey of CABE (Chartered Association of Building Engi- neers) members, 42% believed that “the construction industry’s understanding of how to comply with the Building Regu- lations has deteriorated.” Also, over 82% believed that “resourcing for Building Control functions has declined.” From October 2023, professionals who are working in Building Control will need to prove their competence before applying for registration with the newly introduced Building Safety Regulator (BSR). The BSR sits within the HSE, which in November 2022 released the Building Control Inspector Competency Frame- work consultation. CABE (17% of whose members work in Building Control), said that this will affect “all Building Control professionals working in Local Authori- ties, Approved Inspectors and Building Control Approvers.” CABE, as part of its response to the con- sultation, recently surveyed its members, also canvassinng them on their “views of the whole of the Building Control sector.” 66% of respondents intended to register as a Building Inspector. The results of the survey have been shared with the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) and the BSR at HSE.
The survey report can be viewed here:
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