White paper surveys UK architects about upcoming 2024 SuDS regulations. Are they ready? Are developers?

The UK government has announced that it will be mandatory to include Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) in virtually all new housing developments in England beginning in 2024. This is a win for proponents of SuDS, but one that feels like it has been a long time coming. This will bring England in line with Scotland, Ireland, and Wales, where they have been mandatory since 2019.

Are you ready for mandatory SuDS? Get up to speed by downloading the free ADF white paper, “Design for SuDS: Stormwater Management & Green Infrastructure” which includes survey results, commentary from experts and respondents, as well as 4 mini case studies.

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The Flood and Water Management Act, which was made law back in 2010, had provided for this requirement, but the government at the time decided they did not want to make the specific SuDS requirement compulsory for new developments. So, in a sense, everyone knew that this was probably going to happen eventually, but the 12-year pause has meant a lot of missed opportunities to build on the momentum of SuDS.

Now that it’s finally going to become a reality, it’s time for builders and developers to integrate SuDS into their planning. Are they ready?

ADF examines the role of architects in SuDS planning

According to the new white paper from Architects Datafile (ADF), Design for SuDS: Stormwater Management & Green Infrastructure, some of them may not be.

“Many developers do not appear to have been made aware of the multifunctional benefits of SuDS and green infrastructure,” says Chris Hodson, architect and consultant to trade body Interpave, who participated in the survey and provided commentary on the results to the editors of the report.

“It has been clearly demonstrated that multifunctional SuDS and green infrastructure do not add to capital or maintenance costs, or land-take,” continues Hodson. “Unjustified resistance is still experienced from developers, local authorities, civil engineers and other consultants.”

That resistance should quickly fall away, though, as all parties involved in new developments work to adapt to the new guidelines.

Architects are key to SuDS implementation

For this white paper, ADF surveyed architects to uncover their views on SuDS. Why architects? They play a key role in building projects and often have both a holistic view of the project. They also have a keen interest in making sure all of the details are taken care of, from initial groundbreaking all the way through a project.

The report’s survey highlights some interesting points of view from architects. Knowing how they think can help you advocate even more strongly for SuDS:

• Which are architects’ favoured green stormwater management methods?
• Which members of a project are the most likely discipline to be specifying SuDS in the projects that respondents have been working on?
• Which ‘grey’ methods are they specifying, and importantly, which do they specify alongside natural methods?
• Which information sources are they using to specify best practice in SuDS schemes?
• Does leaving leadership on projects to engineers endanger the achievement of SuDS goals?

4 mini case studies

The report also has some excellent examples of architects working in concert with developers and clients to implement SuDS-friendly strategies:

• How Design Engine Architects worked with Land Use Consultants to build a car park with award-winning green, blue, and grey infrastructure for Charterhouse school in Surrey.
• South West Water working with Stantec to create a community rain barrel program to help reduce CSOs and improve coastal bathing waters on the north Devon coast.
• ACO Water Management’s work with ISG to create a complex drainage system for a brand-new Asda grocery store in Leicester
• Marshalls combined with D5 architects to install specially designed drainage-friendly paving stones to finish the landscape of Boeing’s first European manufacturing site.

The SuDS 2024 countdown

Now that SuDS will be mandatory in 2024, be on the lookout for an update to Susdrain‘s CIRIA SuDS manual. As this deadline approaches, you can be sure we’ll be writing about SuDS even more than we already do, so stay up-to-date on how our products incorporate SuDS by subscribing to the One Water blog newsletter at the bottom of the page.