Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS): guidance for developers

The national approach is to avoid building on areas at highest risk of flooding and this is supported by Buckinghamshire Council.

When allocating land for development within Local Plans and assessing planning applications for new homes, offices and infrastructure, Buckinghamshire Council adheres to the approach set out in national guidance, with the vast majority of new homes built in Buckinghamshire being located on land in flood zone 1 and at lowest risk of fluvial (river/stream) flooding.

However, if developments cannot be suitably located in the lowest flood risk areas, the national guidance allows for them to be built on land susceptible to flooding, subject to passing the relevant tests.

Buckinghamshire Council undertakes a Strategic Flood Risk Assessment which takes into account all potential sources of flooding and informs our planning policies. This includes identifying areas that may flood and ensuring that new developments appropriately manage flood risk.

Where new homes are proposed on land susceptible to fluvial flooding, all planning applications must be accompanied by a site-specific Flood Risk Assessment, to enable the Council to consider the impacts of the proposal in relation to flood risk and to demonstrate that the relevant tests have been applied and passed.

Where appropriate, in accordance with nationally set thresholds, Planning Officers at Buckinghamshire Council consult relevant organisations including the Environment Agency to seek their input, or where appropriate, follow the Government’s standing advice for vulnerable developments.

As such, as part of the plan making process and the assessment of any planning application, Buckinghamshire Council carefully considers and ensures mitigation for the impacts of the proposal in relation to flood risk.

The emerging Local Plan takes a sequential approach to site allocation to avoid areas at risk of flooding.

It will also incorporate suitable policies and measures to mitigate flood risk from all sources, taking account of climate change. This will include sustainable drainage and natural flood management measures where appropriate.

All new development will be required to demonstrate how it will be served by adequate infrastructure capacity in terms of water supply, foul drainage, wastewater and sewage treatment.

It is important to note that in the main utility providers (‘Water Companies’, who have responsibility for these elements of infrastructure planning) are not currently defined as statutory consultees in the planning process and it is only in exceptional cases there is a duty to consult them.

However, currently Buckinghamshire Council has chosen to consult Thames Water and Anglian Water on all major (10 dwellings or more or 10,000sqm’s of commercial) planning applications.