A Place for SuDS?
Following survey results, this report addresses the key barriers to delivering sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) as surface water flooding is a growing threat to businesses, critical infrastructure and millions of people across England.
The barriers identified include land take and site constraints; delays to planning, health and safety, costs, planning policy, planning guidance and advice, adoption and maintenance and SuDS standards. By considering each of these, the analysis shows that the main obstacles to high-quality and widely implemented SuDS are political and institutional rather than technical or financial.
The study found that well-designed SuDS can be built affordably and without delay in nearly all kinds of development as well as retrofitted in established developments. SuDS are enablers of climate resilience and support healthy and economically vibrant communities. The value of these benefits is considerable.
However, because the benefits accrue to local communities and are not valued by conventional markets, with the costs are borne initially by one party (typically the developer), they require effective policy to correct the market externalities involved.
The analysis, underpinned by the findings from the survey, provides a clear indication that:
- At the majority of sites, the costs and particularly the benefits of implementing SuDS, are not being assessed.
- Physical site constraints are cited frequently as reasons to ‘opt-out’ of delivering SuDS in new housing and commercial developments, when the range of options available means this is commonly unjustified.
- In many areas planning authorities do not have the capacity to judge the merits of applications properly, leading to more opt-outs than necessary on the grounds of price and practicality as many go unchallenged.
- Where SuDS have been delivered, they often miss opportunities to provide multiple benefits as they follow the very narrow non-statutory standards that exist presently.
- The adoption and future maintenance of SuDS are the greatest barriers to be resolved. This represents a real opportunity for improved practice, which strengthens policy and standards.
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