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Equestrian flood risk and drainage: the planning rules for stables, field shelters and ménages

Planning permission for stables is needed far more often than owners expect, and the flood risk and drainage requirements that come with it are the part almost nobody writes about. Horses are kept on low-lying grazing land: the cheap, wet,…
Posted on 27th August, 2026
, in NPPF 
, in SuDS 
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First flush explained: why the first few millimetres of rain matter most in SuDS

Every storm carries its dirtiest water at the start. In the first minutes of rain, run-off sluices weeks of built-up grime (oil, tyre and brake dust, sediment, metals and nutrients) off roofs, roads and car parks and into the nearest…
Posted on 21st August, 2026
, in NPPF 
, in SuDS 
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The New National SuDS Strategy Templates: What They Are and How to Use Them

In August 2026 the Environment Agency published two national SuDS strategy templates: one for major development and one for non-major development. Each is a free Word form that an applicant fills in and submits with a planning application, so that…
Posted on 20th August, 2026
, in SuDS 
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Section 104 and Section 102 Agreements: A Developer’s Guide to Sewer Adoption

A Section 104 agreement is the contract that gets a development's new sewers taken over and maintained by the water company; a Section 102 agreement does the same job for sewers that are already in the ground. Both sit in…
Posted on 18th August, 2026
, in SuDS 
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What is a Section 106 sewer connection? The right to connect, explained

A section 106 sewer connection is the statutory right, under section 106 of the Water Industry Act 1991, for the owner or occupier of a property to connect its drains to the public sewer. It is a right, not a…
Posted on 18th August, 2026
, in SuDS 
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Flood risk and drainage in the planning process: where they fit at every stage

If you are applying for planning permission for the first time, the part most likely to catch you out is not the design or the neighbours. It is flood risk and drainage in the planning process. Flooding and surface water…
Posted on 6th August, 2026
, in NPPF 
, in SuDS 
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Flood Risk Assessment and Drainage Strategy: Do You Need Both?

Most applications that need one of these documents need the other too. A flood risk assessment and a drainage strategy answer different questions: the first asks whether the site floods and whether your development makes flooding worse somewhere else, the…
Posted on 4th August, 2026
, in NPPF 
, in SuDS 
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Building Regulations Part H: Foul Water Explained

Building Regulations Part H is the part of the building rules that governs foul water drainage: how the used water from a building's toilets, sinks, baths and appliances is carried away safely. If you are building, extending or converting anything…
Posted on 15th July, 2026
, in SuDS 
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Why Does Rain Stop Play at Wimbledon? The Science of Grass Court Drainage

Every Wimbledon has the same ritual. A few spots of rain, the umpire calls a halt, and within seconds the ground staff are sprinting the covers across the grass. It looks like an overreaction on a warm July afternoon. It…
Posted on 8th July, 2026
, in SuDS 
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How Football Pitch Drainage Works: Lessons from the 2026 World Cup

Watch a World Cup match in a downpour and the ball still runs true. There are no puddles on the halfway line, no spray kicking up at every pass. That is not luck. Football pitch drainage is a piece of…
Posted on 7th July, 2026
, in SuDS 
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What Is a SuDS Proforma and When Is It Required?

A SuDS proforma — also called a drainage proforma or sustainable drainage proforma — is a standardised summary form that goes in with a sustainable drainage strategy on a planning application. It sets out the key drainage information in a…
Posted on 26th June, 2026
, in SuDS 
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The Four Pillars of SuDS Explained: Quantity, Quality, Amenity & Biodiversity

The four pillars of SuDS are water quantity, water quality, amenity and biodiversity — the four objectives a well-designed sustainable drainage system is meant to deliver at the same time. They come from the CIRIA SuDS Manual (C753) and now…
Posted on 16th June, 2026
, in SuDS 
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Permeable Paving for Planning Applications: When It Works and When It Doesn’t

Permeable paving is one of the most common SuDS features used in drainage strategies for planning applications, and on the right site it is one of the most useful. It lets rainfall pass through the surface into a stone sub-base…
Posted on 15th June, 2026
, in LLFA 
, in SuDS 
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Surface Water Flooding and Planning: A Complete Guide for Developers

Surface water is the most widespread source of flood risk in England, and the August 2026 National Planning Policy Framework has made how you handle it decisive at the planning stage. Getting surface water flooding and planning right now turns…
Posted on 1st June, 2026
, in SuDS 
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Do SuDS count towards biodiversity net gain? What actually scores

Yes, sustainable drainage systems can count towards biodiversity net gain, but only the parts of a SuDS scheme that create real, lasting habitat, and only for what that habitat is genuinely worth. A planted basin, a wet pond or a…
Posted on 27th May, 2026
, in NPPF 
, in SuDS 
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BREEAM Flood Risk Assessments Explained

BREEAM is the leading sustainability standard for UK buildings, and how a scheme handles flood risk is one of the things it scores. A BREEAM flood risk assessment is a site-specific study of a development's flood risk, written so the…
Posted on 25th May, 2026
, in SuDS 
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EA SWIM Explained: Building a Business Case for Small-Scale SuDS Investment

The Surface Water Investment Model (SWIM) is an Environment Agency approach, published on 18 May 2026, for building a business case to invest in many small sustainable drainage features across a wide area, rather than one large scheme, so their…
Posted on 19th May, 2026
, in SuDS 
, in SWIM 
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Padel Court Drainage and Flood Risk: What the Planning System Actually Asks For

Padel court drainage is the part of a padel planning application that almost nobody scopes, because the court is built to drain and everyone assumes that settles the question. It does not. The LTA's own construction guidance specifies a porous…
Posted on 12th May, 2026
, in NPPF 
, in SuDS 
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From 6-Hour Warning to Spade in Ground: What SWFFIP Means for Planning

On 16th April the Flood Forecasting Centre published the results of SWFFIP, the Surface Water Flood Forecasting Improvement Project. The programme brings two models into fuller operational use: the Surface Water Flooding Hazard Impact Model (SWFHIM), which has been running…
Posted on 21st April, 2026
, in SuDS 
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Groundwater Monitoring for Planning: Requirements, Timing and Delays

Groundwater monitoring for planning is the process of measuring how the water table beneath a site rises and falls over the seasons, usually to prove that an infiltration-based drainage scheme will actually work. It is most often needed where Sustainable…
Posted on 14th April, 2026
, in SuDS 
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Source Control in UK Drainage: SuDS at Plot Level

Source control means managing rainfall as close as possible to where it lands, before it has a chance to run off into the wider drainage network. It sits at the very top of the SuDS hierarchy, and in principle it…
Posted on 9th April, 2026
, in SuDS 
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What Drainage Information Is Needed for Planning Permission?

For years it was standard practice to secure surface water drainage by planning condition and work up the detailed design after permission was granted. That route still exists. What has changed is how much a planning application has to demonstrate…
Posted on 2nd April, 2026
, in SuDS 
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LLFA Objection to a Planning Application: Why Drainage Strategies Are Rejected and How to Resolve It

An LLFA objection to a planning application is one of the most common hurdles a development can hit, and one of the most resolvable. It rarely means the scheme is unacceptable in principle. It means the Lead Local Flood Authority,…
Posted on 23rd March, 2026
, in LLFA 
, in SuDS 
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Unda at the Manor Royal Jobs Fair – Crawley Town Hall

Today, members of the Unda team are at Crawley Town Hall taking part in the Manor Royal BID Jobs Fair, meeting local jobseekers and showcasing career opportunities within the business. Representing Unda at the event are Jackie and Antony, who…
Posted on 6th March, 2026
, in Jobs 
, in SuDS 
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Dirty Business and the Politics of Britain’s Water Infrastructure

Channel 4’s Dirty Business has been widely described as more than a television drama. The Guardian suggested it could become the next cultural catalyst capable of intensifying public anger over environmental failure — a “blast of controlled fury” aimed squarely…
Posted on 25th February, 2026
, in SuDS 
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What Is Pluvial (Surface Water) Flooding? Causes, Risks and Planning Implications

Surface water flooding, also called pluvial flooding, happens when rainfall lands faster than the ground can absorb it and faster than drains and watercourses can carry it away, so water runs across the surface and collects in low points. That…
Posted on 18th February, 2026
, in SuDS 
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How Increasing Rainfall Is Changing Flood Risk in the UK

Flooding across the UK is becoming more frequent, more widespread and easier to trigger, and increasing rainfall is the reason. The shift is driven less by wilder storms than by a wetter atmosphere and wetter autumns and winters, which together…
Posted on 5th February, 2026
, in SuDS 
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Flood Risk at Britain’s Landmarks: What Six Famous Sites Reveal

Flood risk at the UK’s most famous landmarks is rising, and the pattern it reveals matters far beyond the sites themselves. In its Building Future Communities 2025 report, Aviva uses a handful of Britain’s best-known places — Hampton Court Palace,…
Posted on 4th February, 2026
, in Data 
, in SuDS 
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The CIRIA SuDS Manual (C753): What It Is and How to Use It in 2026

The CIRIA SuDS Manual (C753) is the UK's principal design guide for sustainable drainage systems: 968 pages covering how SuDS should be planned, designed, built, operated and maintained. CIRIA published it in November 2015 to replace the original 2007 manual,…
Posted on 26th January, 2026
, in SuDS 
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How AI Could Improve Flood Risk Management

Artificial intelligence is starting to reshape flood risk management, though not in the way the headlines suggest. AI in flood risk management works best as a support layer: it can sharpen flood forecasting, widen warning coverage and speed up the…
Posted on 5th January, 2026
, in AI 
, in NPPF 
, in SuDS 
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Soils, Flooding and Resilience | World Soil Day

World Soil Day, observed each year on 5th December, highlights the critical importance of soils to environmental systems that are often taken for granted. Led by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization through the Global Soil Partnership, it focuses global…
Posted on 5th December, 2025
, in SuDS 
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Runways Underwater: The 2000 Crawley and Gatwick Floods

The Crawley and Gatwick floods of November 2000 saw the Gatwick Stream and the wider Upper Mole catchment overwhelm homes, roads and even the runways at one of the country's busiest airports. They were one local chapter of the wettest…
Posted on 4th November, 2025
, in SuDS 
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Loughborough Study Shows Sediment Ponds Aid Flood Control

Recent research from Loughborough University has highlighted how sediment ponds—sometimes called “mini-wetlands” — can help farmers protect their land, improve water quality and strengthen natural flood resilience. While the study focused on agricultural benefits, the implications reach far wider. As…
Posted on 31st October, 2025
, in SuDS 
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Paving Over Gardens: Flood Risk and the Rules You Need to Know

Paving over gardens is one of the quiet drivers of urban flooding in the UK. When grass and planting are replaced with concrete, tarmac or block paving, rainwater can no longer soak into the ground. It runs off into drains…
Posted on 30th October, 2025
, in SuDS 
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Arun’s SuDS Design Checklists: From Outline Application to Occupation

The Arun SuDS design checklists are five separate documents, published by Arun District Council in October 2025, and between them they govern a scheme from its first outline drawing to the day someone moves in. They align the district with…
Posted on 27th October, 2025
, in SuDS 
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Integrating Rainwater Harvesting into SuDS Design

Collecting rainwater isn’t a new idea. Many of us already do it at home, using a simple water butt to gather rain off the roof and reuse it on the garden. That, in essence, is what rainwater harvesting is: catching…
Posted on 24th October, 2025
, in SuDS 
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Green SuDS: Nature-Based Drainage in Modern Planning

Green SuDS are nature-based drainage features — swales, rain gardens, basins, green roofs and wetlands — that manage rainwater using vegetation and soil rather than buried pipes and tanks. Across England's planning system they have become the preferred form of…
Posted on 22nd October, 2025
, in SuDS 
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Planning for Flood Risk: The NPPF Explained

The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) is the document that decides how flood risk is handled when land is developed in England. It tells councils to keep new building away from the places most likely to flood, to test the…
Posted on 16th October, 2025
, in NPPF 
, in SuDS 
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Defra and Its Role in England’s Flood Risk Management

The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) plays a central role in how flood risk is managed across England. It is responsible for national policy, legislation and funding for flood and coastal erosion risk management (FCERM). Although Defra…
Posted on 16th October, 2025
, in NPPF 
, in SuDS 
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Early SuDS Planning: CIRIA C823F and What the 2026 NPPF Now Requires

Early SuDS planning means settling the surface water question at land acquisition and site appraisal, before roads, levels and plot positions are fixed. Since 17 August 2026 that is no longer only good practice. CIRIA's guide Enabling development: Getting SuDS…
Posted on 6th October, 2025
, in SuDS 
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Can the Sequential Test Be Reformed to Unlock Homes?

As appeals like Faversham and Yatton make clear, national policy on flood risk is straining under its own weight. The Sequential Test — originally designed to steer vulnerable development away from areas at highest flood risk — is now increasingly…
Posted on 25th July, 2025
, in NPPF 
, in SuDS 
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Ofwat Abolished: What IWC Report Means for Planning

England and Wales’s water sector is at a crossroads. Years of underinvestment, regulatory fragmentation and inconsistent planning alignment have combined to produce a sector-wide confidence crisis — one now spilling directly into the planning system. While water is far from…
Posted on 21st July, 2025
, in IWC 
, in SuDS 
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Mayor of London Issues Urgent Basement Flash Flood Warning

As this year’s London Climate Action Week came to a close, the Mayor of London issued a direct and sobering warning to thousands of residents living in basement flats: be prepared for flash floods. As Sadiq Khan put it, “The…
Posted on 1st July, 2025
, in SuDS 
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National Standards for Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS): The 2025 Rules and Where They Stand in 2026

The National Standards for Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) are the government's design rules for how surface water is managed on new development in England. Defra published them on 19 June 2025 and updated them on 30 July 2025, replacing the…
Posted on 20th June, 2025
, in NPPF 
, in SuDS 
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Thames Water Crisis: Sewage, Fines and Flood Risks

Thames Water, the UK's largest water utility, is embroiled in a deepening crisis, raising serious concerns about the sustainability of the privatised water industry. The company is battling on multiple fronts — staggering debt, regulatory fines, public outcry, and the…
Posted on 28th May, 2025
, in SuDS 
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What the 2025–30 London Surface Water Strategy Means for Planning

As climate change accelerates and urban environments become denser, cities around the world face mounting challenges in managing water. Nowhere is this truer than in London, where the convergence of ageing infrastructure, rising population pressures, and increasingly erratic weather patterns…
Posted on 22nd May, 2025
, in SuDS 
, in TfL 
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Hosepipe Bans Loom Without Smarter Planning

As southern England inches toward what could become the driest spring in over a century, the warnings from regulators and water companies are unmistakable. Hosepipe bans may not yet be in place, but the message is clear: conserve water now,…
Posted on 19th May, 2025
, in SuDS 
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Septic tank regulations in England: the General Binding Rules in 2026

The septic tank regulations that apply in England are the General Binding Rules — statutory conditions set by the Environment Agency that let a septic tank or small sewage treatment plant discharge legally without an environmental permit, provided it stays…
Posted on 28th February, 2025
, in SuDS 
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What Is a Surface Water Drain? Where Yours Goes and Who Owns It

A surface water drain carries rainwater away from your roof, driveway and garden. It is a separate system from the foul drain that takes waste from your sinks and toilet, and it usually ends in one of three places: a…
Posted on 26th February, 2025
, in SuDS 
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Foul, Surface & Combined Sewers: What to Know

When planning a new development, one crucial factor that developers, architects and planners must consider is how wastewater and surface water will be managed. The type of sewer infrastructure present on or near a site can significantly influence the design,…
Posted on 25th February, 2025
, in SuDS 
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Thames Tideway Tunnel: London’s Super Sewer Now Open

After ten years of construction, the Thames Tideway Tunnel is fully connected, with all 21 connections to London’s Victorian sewer system complete. The tunnel has already prevented 5.5 million cubic metres of sewage from entering the Thames—equivalent to 2,200 Olympic-sized…
Posted on 17th February, 2025
, in SuDS 
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Flood and Water Management Act 2010 Explained

The Flood and Water Management Act 2010 is the law that governs how flood risk is managed in England and Wales. It received Royal Assent on 8 April 2010, made county and unitary councils responsible for local flooding, gave the…
Posted on 6th January, 2025
, in LLFA 
, in SuDS 
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What is BRE365 Infiltration Testing (Soakaway Design)?

BRE365 infiltration testing is the in-ground test that measures how fast your site's soil can absorb surface water, so you can prove a soakaway will work and size it correctly. It follows BRE Digest 365, the standard UK method for…
Posted on 2nd December, 2024
, in NPPF 
, in SuDS 
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Topographical Surveys for FRA & SuDS: When Are They Needed?

A topographical survey is a measured land survey that records a site's exact levels, contours, features and existing drainage. For a flood risk assessment or a SuDS drainage design, it is the ground truth everything else sits on. You usually…
Posted on 18th November, 2024
, in Data 
, in NPPF 
, in SuDS 
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Lead Local Flood Authority (LLFA): What It Is and What It Means for Your Application

A Lead Local Flood Authority (LLFA) is the county council or unitary authority responsible for managing local flood risk across its area: surface water, groundwater and ordinary watercourses. On major planning applications it is a statutory consultee on surface water…
Posted on 26th August, 2024
, in LLFA 
, in NPPF 
, in SuDS 
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