SRA Annual Report 2024-25: SuDS inspections
In 2024-25, as in previous years, a lot of close attention was devoted in this workstream to examining Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) at new developments.
When it rains, SuDS help to control the run-off of water from hard surfaces like roads, roofs and pavements. SuDS use techniques inspired by nature – such as permeable paving and plants and ponds – to absorb water and hold it back as close as possible to where it comes from.
SuDS can make places greener and more attractive, healthier for people and better for wildlife, with less pollution.
In June 2024, the SRA Board agreed to give Somerset Council an extra £42,000 so that SuDS inspections could continue until the end of the 2024-25 financial year. Funding given previously (£313,000 in total since 2020) had been expected to run out at the end of September.
Very few formal SuDS inspection processes are in place across England. This situation is expected to change when Schedule 3 of the Flood and Water Management Act (2010) is implemented. This implementation had been expected to happen by the end of the 2024-25 financial year, but a new date is currently unknown. As things stand, Somerset is ahead in checking new developments.
The SRA and its partners want to ensure that SuDS are built in accordance with the exact designs that were approved by local planning authorities, and that they work as they are meant to work. Inspectors check schemes for compliance against 16 different criteria. Text continues below images.
At most places, it is generally found that SuDS features are installed in accordance with approved drawings and specifications. Where problems are found, Somerset Council has the power to enforce changes.
As in previous years, special attention is paid to handover arrangements for future maintenance, which is vital for effective SuDS operation. Records are kept of private management and maintenance companies.
All sites inspected continue to be added to a SuDS register for Somerset, using mapping software. One purpose of this mapping is to enable future monitoring, especially of whether maintenance is being carried out by companies exactly as developers pledged during the process of getting planning permission. The monitoring process also allows for residents to raise concerns about SuDS features.
A useful source of information about SuDS in Somerset is a website funded by the SRA, which includes Somerset-specific SuDS design standards: https://www.somerset-suds.co.uk
Sites of SuDS inspections
The SRA funded inspections of 37 SuDS sites in 2024-25.
Below are the 37 inspection sites listed by former district council area.
Mendip
Frome, Cherry Grove; Norton St Philip, High Street; Street, Amberleigh, Isaacs Close.
Sedgemoor
Bawdrip, New Road, Bawdrip; Berrow, Rosetree Farm Paddock; Brent Knoll (x2), Brent Street (EG Carter) and Brent Street (Coln Residential); Bridgwater (x3), Bower Farm, and Gerber Foods site, Wembdon Road, and Willstock Village, Phase 2; Burnham-on-Sea, Golf Links Road; Cheddar (x4), Steart Bushes, Wedmore Road, and Steart Farm, and land north of Helliers Lane (Bellway Homes), and Hythe Wood, Helliers Lane (David Wilson Homes); Chilton Polden, Hayne Walk; Chilton Trinity, land at former brickworks; Durleigh, Queenswood Reservoir, Luxborough Road; East Huntspill, New Road; North Petherton (x3), Batts Farm, Newton Road, and Carrots Farm, and Willstock Village Phase 3B; Puriton, Woolavington Road.
Somerset West and Taunton
Bishops Lydeard, Taunton Road, West Phase 2; Monkton Heathfield, The Hatcheries; North Curry, Near Taunton, Residential Development; Stogumber, The Butts, Station Road; Taunton, Ruskin Close; Watchet, Lorna Doone Park.
South Somerset
Castle Cary (x2), Backhouse, east of Station Road, and Wayside Farm, Station Road; Chard (x2), Coker Way-Wyatt Way, Furnham Road, and land off Tatworth Road; Crimchard, Blackdown Heights; Curry Rivel, Westfield; Ilchester, land north of Dragonfly Close.