SuDS should be treated as an early design input on development in Reading, not a final drainage calculation. Reading development sits within the Thames catchment and often involves compact redevelopment sites. A planning-ready drainage strategy needs to be explicit about the runoff destination, the evidence behind it and how flood risk is controlled when rainfall exceeds the design capacity.
What matters on a Reading site
- the hierarchy of runoff destinations and evidence supporting the selected route
- groundwater and infiltration constraints close to the Thames and its tributaries
- restricted space for storage on dense redevelopment sites
- safe exceedance routes that do not transfer risk to neighbouring land or buildings
The current drainage framework
For development in England, the 2025 National Standards for Sustainable Drainage Systems set out a runoff hierarchy and design expectations covering flood risk, water quality, amenity and biodiversity. Local planning and flood-risk requirements still need to be addressed for the individual site.
National Standards for SuDS provides the national framework; the project still needs a site-specific strategy and evidence appropriate to the proposed development.
Where infiltration testing fits
If infiltration is being relied upon, testing should be located and designed around the proposed drainage features rather than used as a generic site-wide assumption. Where previous land use or made ground could affect water quality, review the ground-risk information alongside the drainage proposal.
What to send us
Send the site boundary, proposed layout, levels or topographical survey where available, drainage concept, planning or flood-risk comments, and any previous ground investigation. We can then identify whether infiltration testing, drainage support or linked environmental work is needed.
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