Successful community engagement for SuDS

This webinar focused on the principles and practices of community engagement relevant to retrofitting SuDS.

The benefits of sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) to our communities and environment are now becoming recognised.

Community engagement is a vital part of the approach to delivering and retrofitting blue-green infrastructure, particularly SuDS. As we grapple with the opportunities and challenges of SuDS it is important to work with communities to explain their role and benefits. This often involves understanding and explaining how communities can become actively involved when changes are made to existing places and spaces in order to deliver SuDS that better manage surface water and improve quality of life.

Community engagement is most effective when undertaken from the early stages of planning, through to the delivery and eventual maintenance of SuDS features and landscapes. It is important to integrate this engagement with the delivery of SuDS to ensure community aspirations and concerns are considered and embraced through the life of the SuDS project.

Utilising findings from the Blue Green Cities and Achieving Urban Flood Resilience in an Uncertain Future research projects and experiences from the Third Sector organisation Groundwork, this webinar focused on the principles and practices of community engagement relevant to retrofitting SuDS. Our speakers explained the value and principles of effective engagement and provided some examples of good practice. They also explained how community engagement is evolving to respond to the challenges of COVID lockdowns.