The way Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) are considered through the planning process, has been moving towards creating greater consistency. The National Standards for Sustainable Drainage Systems were published in 2025, setting clearer expectations around how surface water should be managed within new development. The National Planning Policy Framework has since strengthened the connection between planning and those standards, with SuDS expected to be designed in accordance with them.
Now there is another part of that picture: a national SuDS Strategy Proforma.
Published in August 2026, the proformas have been developed by the Environment Agency, working with CIRIA, the Association of SuDS Authorities, Arup and a working group of SuDS practitioners. Their purpose is relatively straightforward: help applicants provide the right information first time, while giving Local Planning Authorities (LPAs) and Lead Local Flood Authorities (LLFAs) a more consistent way of reviewing it.
For anyone involved in planning, designing or reviewing SuDS, it is worth understanding what the proformas do and how they are intended to be used.
Why was a national proforma needed?
SuDS proformas themselves aren’t new. Many LLFAs have developed their own forms, checklists and local guidance over the years. These have helped authorities set out what they expect to see within a drainage submission, but they have also resulted in different approaches across different parts of England.
A developer or consultant working across several authority areas may therefore encounter different forms and information requirements for broadly similar schemes.
When work on the national proforma began, CIRIA identified this as one of the issues it was intended to address. The aim was to provide greater consistency in the information collected, make requirements clearer for developers and reduce the need for individual authorities to continually update their own proformas as national guidance changes. It also provides a ready-made approach for authorities that do not currently use one.
Two proformas have now been published: one for major development and another for non-major development. This reflects the proportional approach to SuDS set out through national planning policy.
GreenBlue Urban’s involvement
GreenBlue Urban was invited, to take part in the steering group supporting the development of the SuDS proforma.
This gave our team the opportunity to contribute to the process from the perspective of those involved in the design and delivery of SuDS on real projects.
Bringing together LLFAs, developers, technical specialists and practitioners is important because the success of a national proforma ultimately depends on whether it works for both sides of the planning process: those preparing the information and those assessing it.
Is the national proforma mandatory?
LPAs and LLFAs are being encouraged to adopt the national proformas. CIRIA describes the intention as improving consistency across England and removing the need for separate local versions to be produced.
That does not mean every existing local proforma immediately becomes invalid.
The Planning Portal continues to tell applicants to consider relevant local planning policies, local SuDS guidance and local lists of information requirements alongside the national proforma.
For authorities that already have an established proforma, the new national approach therefore provides an opportunity to review how their existing process aligns with the updated National Standards. One of the original aims of the project was specifically to remove the need for authorities to individually update their own forms in response to the new standards.
For applicants, the message is equally important: check the requirements of the relevant LPA and LLFA rather than assuming the process will already be identical everywhere. Uptake is likely to become more consistent as the national proformas become established.
What does a SuDS strategy now need to demonstrate?
The proforma sits alongside the National Standards rather than replacing the technical work behind a drainage strategy. The 2025 National Standards contain seven areas covering runoff destinations, management of everyday rainfall, management of extreme rainfall and flooding, water quality, amenity, biodiversity and the design of drainage through construction, operation, maintenance and eventual decommissioning.
Surface water management cannot be considered solely in terms of how much attenuation can be provided or what discharge rate can be achieved. The standards require consideration of where water goes, how frequent rainfall is managed, how pollution risk is addressed and how SuDS can contribute to better places and biodiversity.
For example, Standard 2 addresses everyday rainfall or interception. It says a SuDS approach should be used so that at least the first 5mm of rainfall for the majority of rainfall events does not result in runoff leaving the site for surface waters or piped drainage systems. It also links interception directly with water quality, amenity and biodiversity.
Long-term performance is considered too. The standards require a management and maintenance plan designed to support the performance of the system throughout the lifetime of the development.
The proformas creates a clearer framework for showing how those different requirements have been considered.
What does this mean for Local Authorities?
For LLFAs and LPAs, a nationally recognised format has the potential to make submissions easier to review. Key information can be presented in a consistent place and in a consistent way, making it easier to understand the drainage approach and identify where further evidence may be required.
It could also reduce some of the administrative burden associated with maintaining individual local proformas every time national policy, standards or guidance change.
Local context remains important. Ground conditions, flood risk, existing drainage networks, local policies and individual site constraints will continue to influence what is appropriate, and the Planning Portal explicitly retains the need to consider local requirements alongside the national proforma.
What does it mean for developers and design teams?
Perhaps the most useful way to view the proforma is as an early design tool rather than something to complete immediately before a planning application is submitted.
Answering its questions properly relies on decisions that often need to be made much earlier. Where will surface water ultimately go? Can rainfall be reused or infiltrated? How will everyday rainfall be managed? Where can above-ground SuDS be incorporated? How will runoff be treated? What happens during an extreme storm? How will the drainage system integrate with streets, landscape, buildings and trees? Who will maintain it?
If those conversations only begin once a site layout has largely been fixed, the options available to the drainage designer can already be significantly constrained. Considering them during masterplanning creates more opportunity to manage water close to where it falls and to integrate SuDS with landscape and public realm.
This is particularly important where the same space can deliver several functions. Raingardens, bioretention, SuDS tree pits, swales and other nature-based interventions can contribute to surface water management while also supporting water quality, biodiversity, amenity and greener streets.
The National Standards themselves recognise this relationship. They state that the seven standards are complementary and that surface water drainage designed to deliver multiple benefits will normally incorporate a range of features contributing to several standards at the same time.
A more consistent approach to SuDS
The national SuDS Strategy Proforma provide a clearer and more consistent framework for presenting and assessing drainage strategies across England.
For Local Authorities, they offer a common structure for reviewing submissions against the National Standards. For developers and design teams, they provide greater clarity around the information and evidence expected through planning.
Local requirements will continue to apply, but greater consistency should make the process easier to navigate across different authority areas.
Used from the early stages of a project, the proforma can also help ensure that surface water management is properly integrated into the wider design, rather than addressed primarily as a planning submission requirement.
