FOI: SuDS – Slowing the Flow

Festival of Ideas: SuDS – Slowing the Flow

Friday 11th June, 10AM BST

The pressure on land for both new developments and in built-up areas is such that reducing the footprint of a SuDS scheme is a major factor in the design and delivery of SuDS. Components that intercept stormwater and slow the flow before it reaches a final attenuation or infiltration point reduce the amount of land required for the scheme. However, well-designed SuDS offer additional benefits such as amenity and biodiversity, properties protected by SuDS can attract a higher premium and a greater return on investment.  Planning for SuDS early on is crucial.

Our latest webinar hosts well-regarded industry experts offering key advice and exemplar projects that will certainly be of benefit to all – sign up today!

 Host

Howard Gray, PR & Specification Consultant, GreenBlue Urban

Speaker Bio

With nearly 40 years of experience planting trees in urban settings, Howard carries out CPD presentations and site visits to assist contractors, Planners and Architects with their tree planting projects.

Session Title: Micro SuDS – Slowing the Flow at Property Level

Guest Speaker

Sue Illman

Owner, Illman Young Landscape Design Ltd

Sue is a practicing Landscape Architect and Managing Director of Illman Young. Whilst her practice works across a broad range of sectors, Sue is best known for her specialist expertise, enthusiasm, and advocacy around the use of Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS). Whilst Sue promotes a ‘landscape-led’ approach, this is fundamentally rooted in a collaborative and cross-professional approach to problem-solving and site design.

Session Title: SuDS – what is the future Policy?

Sue will discuss the direction of travel of SuDS, how likely planning will develop in the future based on the general direction of government to include legislation and guidance including the model design codes and Biodiversity net gain.

Guest Speaker

Bob Bray

Founding Director, Robert Bray Associates

‘Bob is a Landscape Architect with a particular interest in Sustainable Drainage design that integrates the management of rainfall with the design of development.

He was responsible for the design of the first developments in England to incorporate full SuDS management trains including ’source control’ and an emphasis on the multiple benefits of SuDS.

Bob has been a SuDS trainer for CIRIA since the early 2000s contributing to many guidance documents and providing Case Studies for Susdrain and other publications.

Robert Bray Associates continue to innovate in the design of attractive and multifunctional landscapes including the Bridget Joyce Square award-winning scheme in White City and new schemes in town and country with SuDS at their heart.

Bob was presented with a Susdrain Lifetime Achievement Award in 2020 ‘awarded to an individual who has spent their career inspiring, informing and influencing the delivery and uptake of high-quality SuDS’.

Session Title: Controlling the flow in SuDS

SuDS mimics the way rainfall behaves in nature. In a temperate climate rain soaks into the soil before water begins to infiltrate into the ground or flow as runoff from the land.

Water flows more quickly from development transporting pollution and large volumes of water downstream in an uncontrolled way causing flooding and the contamination of watercourses.

SuDS slows the flow to match ’greenfield rates’ of runoff in a series of storage features allowing treatment of pollution to happen along the ‘management train’ and in sub-catchment design.

Guest Speaker

Paul Hargreaves

Paul has a broad range of experience from town centre enhancements to landfill remediation, but over the past 15 years he has focused on surface water management.

During his career Paul has sat on several Institution of Civil Engineer panels in relation to water, one of which was set up in response to the summer 2007 floods in England, to influence the 2009 Flood and Water Management Bill.

Paul has also contributed to various CIRIA guidance documents and co-authored the update to ‘Designing for Exceedance’ (CIRIA C738), and the recent update to the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges CD521 ‘Hydraulic design of road edge surface water channels and outlets’.

Session Title: Sidmouth Amphitheatre – A multi-purpose site

Paul will take you on a quick tour around the current exceedance project being constructed in the seaside town of Sidmouth in Devon.

This project aims to intercept the overland flow path generated by the 100-year storm along Station Road, and re-direct the runoff into the adjacent parkland.

The parkland had historically hosted an international folk festival, and so the opportunity to create a piece of dual use infrastructure that would manage flooding, whilst also providing a performance space was born.

Guest Speaker

Robert Widd

Arboricultural Officer, Milton Keynes Council

Bob is Arboricultural Officer at Milton Keynes Council, Vice Chair at the East Anglian Branch of the Arb Association, Chairman at the Arborist Society and Managing Director at Bob Widd Associates Ltd.  With a diploma if forestry is highly regarded and endorsed by many within the industry.

Session Title: Using stormwater attenuation in urban regeneration schemes

Bob highlights Milton Keynes master plan to redevelop and regenerate land in and around Bletchley town centre. A high-quality public realm to develop and increase pedestrian activity. The incorporation of 8 stormwater tree pits in this project has a minimum combined stormwater capacity of 19,511 litres. That’s a staggering 2438 litres of attenuation per tree.

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