As of 7th January 2019, all construction work in Wales with drainage implications, of 100m² or more, is now required to have Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) to manage on-site surface water (whether they require planning permission or not). These SuDS must be designed and constructed in accordance with the Welsh Government Standards for Sustainable Drainage.
Schedule 3 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 (FWMA) establishes Monmouthshire County Council as a SuDS Approving Body (SAB), having statutory responsibility for approving, and in some cases adopting and maintaining the approved drainage systems.
Detailed information on the implementation process is available on Welsh Government’s website via the following link: gov.wales/implementation-sustainable-drainage-systems-new-developments-draft-regulations-and-national
Further information about the requirements, the statutory standards and the legislation can be found on the Welsh Government website: gov.wales/flooding-coastal-erosion
Which legislation are we referring to?
Schedule 3 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 (FWMA) requires surface water drainage for new developments to comply with mandatory National Standards for Sustainable Drainage. The statutory standards are now available and can be found here: SuDS Statutory Standards
SuDS Approving Body (SAB)
The SuDS Approving Body (SAB) is a service delivered by the Local Authority to ensure that drainage proposals for all new developments of at least 2 properties OR over 100m² of construction area are fit for purpose, designed and built in accordance with the National Standards for Sustainable Drainage published by Welsh Ministers.
The SAB is established to:
- Provide a Pre-Application advice service to discuss your proposal
- Evaluate and approve drainage applications for new developments where construction work has drainage implications
- Adopt and maintain surface water drainage systems according to Section 17 of Schedule 3 (FWMA)