Money down the drain?

Landowners and developers in Shropshire must undertake preliminary drainage surveys and detailed drainage proposals to satisfy Shropshire Council’s additional responsibilities for flood management.

Karine Swanson, head of planning at Balfours, says the ‘Flood and Water Management Act 2010 gives local authorities’ additional responsibilities for managing flood risk in their area.

She comments: “As a result the Council has increased the demands on planning applications. The increased drainage requirements seem particularly onerous for sites in the rural area. The majority of land is farmed, making the initial porosity tests required disruptive and difficult to undertake while the land is in active use.” She continues: “Most people think drainage problems only relate to sites known to be in the flood plain or where actual flooding occurs, but the new regulations mean that you not only have to consider the on-site risk but you must now demonstrate as part of your planning application that your proposals do not increase the risk of flooding elsewhere.

“It will be increasingly important to incorporate the storage or recycling of surface water into initial designs to ensure development is approved and to avoid excessive delay or abortive costs in preparing development proposals,” says Karine.

Shropshire Council has published a Surface Water Management Policy for consultation purposes and has already increased its basic requirements since Christmas. Karine warns that these new provisions cannot be overlooked and the associated technical drainage works have already increased the essential costs associated with preparing planning applications.

Balfours has been liaising with the Council on the detail of the new requirements and is well placed to offer initial advice and guidance at an early stage of your development proposals. For further advice or assistance please contact Karine Swanson on 01743 241181.