In a letter to environment secretary Liz Truss, chair of the CCC’s adaptation sub-committee Lord Krebs said the government’s plan to make SuDS mandatory for all major housing and commercial developments “does not address” the barriers to its implementation and “will fail to deliver the increase in SuDS desired”.
Lord Krebs made three recommendations for the environment secretary to adopt to help increase the take up of Suds:
• Withdrawing the automatic right for housing developers to connect to public sewers
• Making Lead Local Flood Authorities (LLFAs) and water companies statutory consultees on new developments
• Collecting data to monitor the uptake of SuDS.
He said that by removing the automatic right for developers to connect to public sewers, or making it qualified or conditional, “will tip the balance in favour of more sustainable approaches”.
Lord Krebs added that by making LLFAs and water companies statutory consultees will “provide planning officers with the technical advice they need to properly scrutinise applications”.
Collecting the data is recommended because it will allow the government to see how effective its policy is in increasing its deployment, and the monitor its effectiveness.
Lord Krebs wrote: “Without these steps there is a risk that an ineffectual policy is introduced without the ability to detect its impact, not sufficient evidence to justify a stronger intervention should it be required”.
A spokesperson from Defra was not immediately available to comment.