SuDS in London - a guide

1.3 The four pillars
of SuDS
SuDS should be based on the four pillars
of SuDS design as set out in CIRIA C753 The
SuDS Manual 2015. These are:
• Water quantity
Images courtesy of Jess Bastock
• Water quality
• Amenity
• Biodiversity
By managing quality and quantity to meet
requirements on the surface, the benefits
of amenity and biodiversity generally
follow, assuming the SuDS components
are well designed.
However, where retrofitting SuDS, or
where circumstances are particularly
constrained or challenging, permeable
paving, attenuation tanks and other
below-ground features may be the only
intervention possible. Of course, in these
cases, biodiversity and amenity benefits
will be limited.
The following pages describe these four
pillars in more detail.
Quantity: permeable paving, grit jointing
Amenity: community planting
Quality: reed bed planting
Biodiversity: reed bed habitat
10 1 Principles of SuDS