Martin Lambley, Global Product Manager for Urban Climate Resilience at Wavin has called on the government to take this opportunity to repair our relationship with water - by providing clarity on regulation, such as the Flood and Water Management Act, which has been dripping through over the past decade.
Clarity on water needs to be a top priority in planning reform if the new government wants to repair the UK’s broken relationship with our most precious resource.
In her first speech as Chancellor, Rachel Reeves promised to overhaul planning restrictions as the new government set about getting Britain building again. The industry will welcome this ambition, but everyone needs clarity on water regulations if we want our new developments to be resistant to the extreme weather that we’re likely to see more of in coming years.
Water regulations that affect the planning process have been dripping through over the past decade, as the Flood and Water Management Act is slowly implemented in inconsistent chunks. We need this legislation, but the lack of clarity on when and how it needs to be executed means that its positive impact is being severely limited.
We’ll only get the best from technologies such as Sustainable Drainage Systems if developers are clear on their responsibilities well in advance – having to comply halfway through a project or a design always leads to an imperfect solution.
The new government has introduced ambitious new housebuilding targets. This is a significant opportunity to repair our relationship with water, and start using it as a resource, rather than funnelling it out of town as fast as possible.
Ultimately, planning reforms announced by the new Chancellor need to tackle the growing water challenge made more drastic by the changing climate.
