Development proposals are expected to incorporate:

Drainage strategies for development must strictly adhere to the approach of the drainage hierarchy:

an integrated approach to the management of flood risk;

a strategy for surface water, groundwater and foul drainage;

management and maintenance plans incorporating any on-site and adjacent watercourses where riparian rights exist;

flood resilient design that assesses and responds to the existing hydrological characteristics of a site; and

-surface water drainage (SuDS) strategies for both minor and major schemes regardless of flood risk designation.

Priority 1: Collect for non-potable use – rainwater harvesting (e.g. toilet flushing, irrigation).

Priority 2: Control at source:

infiltration, green roofs, run-off to grass or verge, water butts, and permeable layers.

on site SuDS treatment with other sustainable drainage system techniques – collection for infiltration and detention.

Local SuDS treatment with other sustainable drainage system techniques – collection away from site.

Regional SuDS treatment with other sustainable drainage system techniques – collection in wetlands and balancing ponds.

Priority 3: Discharge to watercourses – including canals, streams, ditches or existing swales.

Priority 4: Discharge to surface water sewers.

Priority 5: Discharge to combined sewers.

Solutions at lower levels of the hierarchy must only be considered when higher level solutions are demonstrably not possible or suitable. Where more than one