The trade association Interpave has published a new edition of its ‘SuDS + Permeable Paving Today’ guide, reviewing the latest government measures for implementation of Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) from April.
The move away from dedicated drainage legislation towards a planning approach to implementation signals a new opportunity for designers to take the lead in developing multi-functional SuDS as an integral part of good urban design. A wider understanding of SuDS is now important, so that drainage engineering can become a supporting function, rather than an end in itself.
Interpave’s guide is essential reading for all those involved with the development process – particularly architects, urban designers and developers, and local authority planning, flood risk, drainage, building control and highways officers. It explores the latest thinking on SuDS as a fundamental part of urban design and initiatives to deliver them now.
The guide also focuses on concrete block permeable paving – a key tool in urban design with SuDS as a water collection and source control technique. But its real strength is an ability to remove water-borne pollution offering the important – and often missed – opportunity of a gradual supply of treated water that can be exploited for innovative urban design, harvesting and ecology. As the RIBA’s 2014 report ‘Building a Better Britain’ points out: “For too long, we have been designing water out of our towns and cities when we should have been designing it in.” SuDS with permeable paving offer imaginative designers fresh opportunities to achieve this aim, rather than just technical problems to be solved.
‘SuDS + Permeable Paving Today’ is free to download from www.paving.org.uk where news of the latest developments in SuDS, technical guidelines and various case studies are also available.
