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Stantec has created a briefing note for housebuilders and developers to support them ahead of potential legislation changes mandating sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) for new developments in England.

In January 2023, the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA), published a review identifying the benefits and impacts of making SuDS mandatory for new developments in England. The review recommended the implementation of Schedule 3 across England, following in the footsteps of equivalent provisions implemented in Wales.

Its aim is to reduce the overall amount of surface water that ends up in the sewers and storm overflow discharges by reducing pressure on the traditional drainage and sewerage system.

If enforced in 2024, Schedule 3 will have a significant impact on housebuilding and place shaping across England. Our interdisciplinary team of planners and masterplanners, landscape architects, engineers and environmental consultants see this change in legislation as an opportunity to rethink traditional approaches to sustainable drainage. We know that a more integrated approach to drainage early on? factoring it into landscape, highways, and urban design - can create better places and increase social value and benefit to our communities.

In this note we clarify the anticipated changes in legislation Schedule 3 could deliver and how we and you, our clients, can best prepare for the changes it could bring.