Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) have become non-negotiable for property developers across England and Scotland. With planning authorities increasingly scrutinising drainage proposals and climate change intensifying flood risks, understanding the seven National SuDS Standards isn't just about compliance. It's about protecting your investment and delivering developments that stand the test of time. After four decades in drainage design and working on projects from individua

Introduction: If you're an architect or developer working on a new site, you've likely encountered the National SuDS Standards and their emphasis on sustainable drainage. But there's one principle that often gets overlooked in the rush to finalise layouts and submit planning applications: Principle 5 , which states that surface water management should inform your site layout from the very beginning. In reality, drainage designers are frequently brought in after buildings, roa

Climate change is no longer a distant threat. It's a present reality that's fundamentally changing how we design drainage systems. As drainage designers, we have a responsibility to ensure that the infrastructure we create today can cope with the more extreme weather patterns of tomorrow. That's where climate change allowances come in. What Are Climate Change Allowances? Climate change allowances are additional capacity factors that we build into drainage designs to account f