Nature Based SuDS Guidance Document

REQUIREMENTS FOR NATURE-BASED SUDS

Within England, the requirements for the integration of nature-based sustainable drainage systems (NbSuDS) into new development is covered by various legislation, national and local policy.

Other infrastructure works, such as improvements to roads and flood defence works, can also lead to opportunities for NbSuDS in existing communities. There are a range of key partners involved in the provision of NbSuDS and management of flood risk, including the Environment Agency, Lead Local Flood Authorities (LLFA), Local Planning and Highway Authorities, and water and sewage companies. Additional organizations are also involved in protecting and promoting nature, including Natural England and Wildlife Trusts. Key drivers for providing NbSuDS are the UK’s commitments to address and mitigate the effects of climate change, as well as creating sustainable development through the UK planning system. This section provides a summary of key requirements in this space.

FLOOD AND WATER MANAGEMENT ACT (FWMA) 2010

The Flood and Water Management Act 2010 (FWMA) is a key piece of legislation in relation to SuDS. It created the role of LLFA, giving it the responsibility to:

• Develop, maintain, and apply a strategy for local flood risk management,
• Maintain a register of flood risk assets, and
• Manage the risk of flooding from surface water, groundwater, and ordinary watercourses.

Schedule 3 of the FWMA provides the overarching legislation relative to SuDS. In England, Defra is currently drawing up the mechanisms to enact Schedule 3, and anticipate it will be in place in 2025. In Wales, it came into effect in January 2019 and makes SuDS a statutory requirement for new developments with a construction area of at least 100 square meters, with an approval process separate to the planning system.

25 YEAR ENVIRONMENT PLAN

The Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP) 2023 builds on the Government’s 2018 A Green Future 25-year plan to improve the environment. The EIP sets goals for improving the environment and promoting actions to help restore nature and reduce environmental pollution and makes specific reference to SuDS. Ten goals are set out, that NbSuDS can contribute towards, including:

• Goal 1: Thriving plants and wildlife
• Goal 3: Clean and plentiful water
• Goal 6: Using resources from nature sustainably
• Goal 7: Mitigating and adapting to climate change
• Goal 10: Enhancing beauty, heritage, and engagement with the natural environment

ENVIRONMENT ACT 2021

The Environment Act 2021 provides two key mechanisms to enhance nature: Biodiversity Net Gain and Local Nature Recovery Strategies. Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRS) are a new, England-wide system of spatial strategies that will establish priorities and map proposals for specific actions to drive nature’s recovery and provide wider environmental benefits.

POSTNOTE

The Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, Westminster, London SW1A 0AA

Local nature recovery strategies are laid out in the Environment Bill as an approach for delivering national environmental objectives on local and regional scales. This POSTnote examines the LNRS process to create local maps of habitat restoration opportunities alongside a list of environmental priorities. It also highlights the challenges and opportunities for delivering nature recovery through this process.

Overview

• In the UK, around 41% of species have declined in abundance since 1970 due to environmental pressures like habitat loss.
• To help address this, the UK Government is creating Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRS) in England, a map of priority habitats to be improved and restored.
• Engaging landowners, land managers, and other key stakeholders to guide decisions on which habitats are included in LNRS, would ensure wider benefits are delivered to both nature and people.
• Effective delivery of the LNRS will require an understanding of the trade-offs between land uses, working across administrative boundaries, and addressing skills and capacity gaps.
• Funding for stakeholders, such as land managers, to deliver LNRS outcomes will be provided from a range of future environmental land management schemes together with private investment.

Background

Since 1970, an estimated 41% of UK species have decreased in abundance, and the average species’ population has fallen by 13%. With 80% of land area in the UK being intensively managed for food production and urban development, natural and semi-natural habitats have been degraded and fragmented leading to species’ decline. The 2010 Lawton review set out a vision to reverse this loss by making existing and restored natural habitats ‘bigger, better, more and joined-up’ (BBMJ). These would constitute an ‘ecological network’ of core areas, buffer zones, and corridors, which would allow species to move and persist in landscapes. The 2012 National Planning Policy Framework states that these ‘ecological networks’ must be considered in local plans. However, until recently, few networks have been identified across England.

The UK Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan (published in 2018) sets out the aim to create a national-scale Nature Recovery Network (NRN) in England, based on Lawton’s BBMJ principles. 30% of land will be designated as nature sites by 2030, alongside plans to create 500,000 hectares of new or improved habitat outside of these designated sites. In the 2020 Environment Bill, Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRS) are laid out as a mechanism to deliver the Lawton Review recommendations at a local scale, by mapping ecological networks and identifying habitat restoration priorities. There is also an opportunity to achieve multiple benefits beyond reversing nature loss through LNRSs, such as climate mitigation and adaptation. This POSTnote summarizes the Government’s proposed approach for planning and implementing an LNRS, and the likely opportunities and challenges for improving England’s habitat networks for nature’s recovery and a wider range of benefits for humans.

The LNRS Approach

LNRSs will be tools to inform decision-making about conservation and restoration of habitats for nature’s recovery by landowners and managers, public authorities, and NGOs.

LOCAL NATURE RECOVERY STRATEGIES (LNRS)

In 2024, requirements for Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) started to be introduced into the UK planning system, with a requirement for planning permissions to deliver at least 10% BNG. Nature-based SuDS can help to deliver meaningful biodiversity gains, either through creation or enhancement. In the West Midlands, the WMCA has responsibility for the preparation of the LNRS, and larger-scale nature-based SuDS are expected to form part of the proposals for creating or improving habitats for nature. The strategies are a requirement of the Environment (Local Nature Recovery Strategy) (Procedure) Regulations 2023. The Act aims to introduce measures to reverse nature’s decline.

THE NATIONAL PLANNING POLICY FRAMEWORK (NPPF) 2023

The UK planning system provides mechanisms for implementing the requirements of government policy on climate change and nature. The National Planning Policy Framework (2023) (NPPF) places great weight on Local Plans to respond to the challenges posed by climate change. Plans should take a proactive approach in mitigating and adapting to the associated risks of rising temperatures through ensuring future resilience of communities and infrastructure.

"Major developments should incorporate sustainable drainage systems unless there is clear evidence that this would be inappropriate." — Paragraph 175

In addition, the NPPF places importance on design codes as a way to assess and improve the design of development. N2 of the National Model Design Code: Part 2 Guidance Notes refers to the importance of sustainable drainage systems in maintaining healthy water systems and identifies 10 types of multi-functional SuDS which could be used. Whilst design codes are currently optional, the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 has introduced a requirement for all LPAs to have a design code covering their entire area. The WMCA includes seven Local Planning Authorities (LPAs). Each has their own Local Plan, containing policies and other supplementary guidance to inform decisions on planning applications. Table 1 provides a summary of how nature-based approaches are currently integrated into SuDS policies in Local Plans. Whilst all Local Plans make reference to the inclusion of SuDS, there is an opportunity to embed the requirement for nature-based design in policies, design codes, and other guidance.

WMCA STRATEGY

In September 2021, the WMCA published its first Natural Environment Plan. This is the WMCA's first five-year plan for the natural environment, making a commitment to a long-term vision for nature, with subsequent plans that will build on success, but also address ongoing challenges to the region’s biodiversity. The plan identifies a range of priority actions that fall under the following themes:

• Widening access to green and blue spaces for all communities across the West Midlands, initially focusing on places where there is a deficit of access.
• Increasing tree and hedgerow planting, but with an emphasis on ‘right tree, right place,’ to support climate mitigation and adaptation.
• Promoting wildlife corridors and working with natural corridors (both green and blue) as well as those linked to infrastructure projects, e.g. along cycle ways.
• Recognizing the importance of the enablers of change and supporting activity around financing and behavior change that will enable the roll out, impact, and scalability of the initiatives in this plan.

SUDS LOCAL PLAN POLICIES

The table below shows a summary of SuDS Local Plan Policies and Supporting Guidance within the WMCA:

LPA		How strong is the Local Plan reference to nature in its SuDS policy? Selection of Other Relevant SuDS Guidance	Selection of Other Relevant SuDS Guidance
	Adopted Plan	Emerging Plan
Birmingham	Birmingham Development Plan Policy TP6 – strong reference	Birmingham Local Plan Issues and Options - strong reference	Birmingham Design Guide: Landscape and Green Infrastructure City Manual Sustainable Drainage: Guide to Design, Adoption and Maintenance
Coventry	Coventry Local Plan Policy EM5 – reference included	Coventry Local Plan Review Issues and Option - reference included	Coventry City Council Design Guidance for New Residential Developments
Solihull	Solihull Local Plan Policy P11– reference included	Solihull Draft Local Plan Policy P11	A Guide to SuDS and Drainage in Solihull
Dudley	Black Country Core Strategy Policy ENV5 – reference included	Draft Dudley Local Plan Policy DLP46 – strong reference	Residential Design Guidance SPD
Sandwell	Black Country Core Strategy Policy ENV5 – reference included	Sandwell Draft Local Plan Policy SCC5 – strong reference	Residential Design Guide SPD
Walsall	Black Country Core Strategy Policy ENV5 – reference included	Not available	Designing in Walsall The Vision SPD
Wolverhampton	Black Country Core Strategy Policy ENV5 – reference included	Wolverhampton Local Plan Issues and Preferred Options - strong reference	No additional guidance