Drainage maintenance and management plan
A plan setting out how drainage and SuDS features should be maintained over the life of the development.
About this service
Drainage and SuDS features only keep working if someone looks after them. Silt builds up in chambers, leaves block gullies, permeable paving clogs and flow controls can become blocked by debris. A drainage maintenance and management plan sets out every drainage asset on a development, what each one needs, how often, and who is responsible. Councils commonly require one through a planning condition before a scheme is occupied.
We write plans for new houses, blocks of flats and mixed-use developments, usually working from the approved drainage design. The plan lists each asset with its location, describes routine inspection and cleaning, sets out less frequent tasks such as jetting or replacing filter media, and covers what to do after severe storms. We keep the language practical, because the people using it are often homeowners, managing agents or maintenance contractors, not engineers.
A clear plan also helps when a development is sold or handed over. Buyers' solicitors increasingly ask who maintains shared drainage, and a well-written plan answers that question. If the underlying design is still being developed, our SuDS strategy can include outline maintenance requirements, which this plan then turns into a working document that can be handed over with the keys and updated as the development changes.
When you need it
- A planning condition requires a maintenance and management plan
- You need to hand over drainage responsibilities to owners or a management company
What's included
- Schedule of drainage assets
- Maintenance tasks and frequencies
- Responsibilities
How it works
- Review the drainage designWe review the approved drainage drawings, SuDS strategy and planning conditions, and confirm which features have been built, if the scheme is already on site or complete.
- Schedule the assetsWe list each asset, including pipes, chambers, gullies, flow controls, tanks, permeable paving, soakaways and green or blue roofs, with locations referenced to a plan.
- Set tasks and frequenciesFor each asset we set out inspection, cleaning and repair tasks, typical frequencies and triggers such as a storm or visible ponding, based on recognised guidance.
- Assign responsibilitiesWe set out who maintains each asset, whether homeowners, a management company, the freeholder or the sewerage company once adopted, and how records should be kept.
What you receive
Making sure the plan is actually used
The most common failure is a plan that sits in a planning file and is never seen again. To avoid this, we write it so it can be handed directly to a managing agent or included in a home user guide, with a simple table of tasks and a site plan. Where several parties share responsibility, such as private owners and a management company, the plan should say exactly where one ends and the other begins.
Access matters too. Inspection chambers buried under decking, tanks with no access cover and flow controls in locked basements cannot be maintained. If we review a plan at design stage, we flag these points so they can be fixed before construction. For older systems or where problems have already appeared, a CCTV drainage survey gives a reliable baseline for the maintenance regime.
Frequently asked questions
What is a SuDS maintenance plan?
It is a document setting out how sustainable drainage features on a development will be looked after over its lifetime. It lists each feature, describes the inspection, cleaning and repair tasks it needs, gives typical frequencies and states who is responsible. Councils often require one through a planning condition so that drainage keeps working after the developer has left.
How often should drainage be maintained?
It depends on the feature. Gullies, gutters and silt traps often need checking a few times a year, especially after autumn leaf fall. Flow controls and inspection chambers are usually inspected at least annually. Permeable paving needs regular sweeping, and green roofs need periodic inspection and weeding. A maintenance plan sets frequencies for each asset on your specific site.
Who is responsible for maintaining shared drainage on a new development?
Usually a management company, the freeholder or the homeowners jointly, unless the sewers are adopted by the sewerage company. Adopted sewers are then maintained by that company, which in most of London is Thames Water. Private SuDS features normally stay with the development. The maintenance plan and the property deeds should make the split of responsibilities clear.
How do I discharge a drainage maintenance planning condition?
You submit an application to the council with the information the condition asks for, usually a maintenance and management plan covering all drainage assets, tasks, frequencies and responsibilities. The council may consult its drainage officer or the Lead Local Flood Authority before approving it. Our plans are written to answer the condition directly, and start from £450 + VAT.