Why puddles are the latest in a long list of obstacles to building the homes we need

2025-05-30T06:00:00

The planning system no longer recognises the difference between rivers and puddles and this must be fixed, says Paul Smith

In the list of Britain’s most popular pastimes, talking about the weather and finding excuses not to build new homes must come pretty near the top. The latest of a long line of planning absurdities combines the two - we’re now being asked to design homes around puddles.

“Surface water flood risk,” as puddles are called in planning policy, has always existed but never used to be a problem. There was a good reason for that - new developments were already required to include sophisticated surface water drainage schemes to take account of the expansion of impermeable areas that typically results from new development.

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