2026 Report: SuDS Challenges and Solutions

Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) have become an integral part of residential development in Wales, helping to support flood resilience, water quality, biodiversity and the creation of sustainable communities. Since becoming mandatory in 2019, the Welsh SuDS framework has provided valuable guidance for local authorities, developers, designers and approval bodies.

Working in partnership with Home Builders Federation (HBF), we have published a new report looking at the current SuDS landscape across Wales, identifying key challenges that have emerged and exploring opportunities to support greater consistency, certainty and efficiency within the current framework.

Practical Guidance for Residential Developments

Like all regulatory frameworks, SuDS policy and requirements continue to evolve. The experience of the process in Wales provides valuable insight into how planning authorities, approval bodies, developers, and technical consultants, like ourselves, can work together to achieve successful outcomes in both Wales and across the UK, as the framework continues to be rolled out.

In our report, we explore several approaches that we believe could provide greater clarity during the design process, helping to carefully balance placemaking, buildability, long-term maintenance, and sustainability objectives alongside technical compliance. These approaches would enable design teams to establish robust drainage strategies that are effective, maintainable and aligned with the realities of development delivery earlier, and with greater confidence.

Several areas where we identified opportunities to support this objective include:

• Consolidating and updating guidance into a clearer, more accessible format
• Developing a transparent approach to commuted sums
• Supporting consistency across local authority areas
• Encouraging early engagement and collaboration
• Continuing investment in skills, knowledge and resources

These opportunities reflect our ambition to support efficient delivery while maintaining the environmental benefits that SuDS are designed to achieve.