From April 2015 we became statutory consultees on all major planning applications in our area. Major developments are defined as being one or more of the following -
- the winning and working of minerals or the use of land for mineral-working deposits
- waste development
- the provision of dwellinghouses where -
- the number of dwellinghouses to be provided is 10 or more
- the development is to be carried out on a site having an area of 0.5 hectares or more
- the provision of a building or buildings where the floor space to be created by the development is 1,000 square metres or more
- development carried out on a site having an area of one hectare or more
When a major planning application is received, we must review the applications. This is to determine if the surface water drainage proposals and sustainable drainage systems are suitable. Some of this work was previously the responsibility of the Environment Agency.
The Environment Agency is still a statutory consultee for major planning applications for the assessment of flood risk.
To help developers, we have produced a drainage impact assessment guide and a sustainable drainage supplementary planning document.
This guidance is continually reviewed to provide you with the most up-to-date information.