Does anyone now the current regs on driveway surface water discharge onto a highway that has no drains and water naturally finds its way to soak away?
Does the fact that you wouldn’t be adding to a drainage system mean that you can get away without on site drainage or does it still stand that the surface water must be dealt with on site through cells or the like.
Thanks in advance to anyone who knows !
The curent planning law is that any driveway greater than 5m² has to incorporate "source control" or surface water, by directing it to an onsite suds arrangements, such as a swale, rain garden or soakaway.
If such an arrangement is not possible, the property owner can apply for planning permission to discharge elsewhere, such as a highway or an existing conventional drainage system. There will, inevitably, be fees involved.
Now, whether the planning law is actually enforced by any local authority (LA) is another matter completely. It's such a badly composed piece of legislation that it is uneconomic for LAs to police it, so most turn a blind eye to violations.
Thanks for your replies.
What got me pondering was the ‘Urban’ in SUDS . Implying this is legislation directed at Urban areas where run off from impermeable surfaces is much greater.
The driveway that will be under construction is very much not in an ‘Urban’ setting but I will pressume this is a blanket ruling and it will need to comply .
