People often think getting legislation passed is the big step. Government’s blocking of SuDS at the behest of the housing industry shows that lobbies can still exert a powerful effect. At least the Welsh have come to their senses.

Susdrain Blog Following consultations in 2017, the Welsh Minister for Environment has now signed the Commencement Order which brings Schedule 3 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 into force in Wales. As a result, from January 7 2019, proposed new developments must have sustainable drainage which complies with the Ministers’ Standards and is approved by the SuDS Approving Body (SAB). The current voluntary standards (available here) will become mandatory at the same time.

In my earlier posts (June 2017 and January 2018) I highlighted the Welsh Government’s consultations on implementing SuDS for new developments in Wales. The earlier consultation sought views on using Schedule 3 as a means of requiring SuDS on new developments. The second consultation looked at the details of implementing Schedule 3. This considered, in particular, secondary legislation which provides the details of how the approval and adoption system outlined in Schedule 3 will operate. Click here to read more