What is required for planning applications

Hampshire County Council is a statutory consultee on all major planning applications in Hampshire.

Our duty is defined in The Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2010.

PLEASE NOTE: The government has released new guidance for drainage strategies called: National Standards for Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS). Planning applications will be required to comply with this guidance from January 2026 onwards. For developments coming forward post January, we strongly recommend you use our pre-application service to ensure compliance. Hampshire County Council updated its drainage strategy guidance (see below) to take account of this update.
Hampshire County Council’s role

The Council is a Statutory Consultee in relation to Surface Water Drainage for Major Development. We provide advice on the suitability of proposed development in relation to surface water flood risk and surface water drainage provision.

The determination of planning applications for residential developments is undertaken by Hampshire’s district and borough councils in their role as Local Planning Authority.

Pre-application advice service

We offer pre-application advice in relation to surface water drainage. Please see our guidance document for more information on the service we offer and the associated fees.

This service may be used to arrange meetings with LLFA case officers regarding ongoing planning applications and related comments.

If you need information on a site's historic and current flood risk, this information is available from our online mapping.

Surface Water Management Service for minor applications

As the Lead Local Flood Authority, we have no remit to provide surface water management advice for sites which have not been deemed "major" applications by the Local Planning Authority. As there are occasions when planners at the district authorities require more specialised advice on surface water management for smaller sites, especially those in areas that are liable to flooding or are particularly politically sensitive, we are able to offer a chargeable service.

This service would provide information and guidance on a specific site with regard to surface water flood risk and whether the proposed surface water management scheme appears to be appropriate for the development.

What you need for your planning application

A Planning Guidance document (a living document) and supporting Technical Notes have been produced to advise developers and applicants and define the information we require to assess planning applications in relation to Surface Water Drainage. These have been developed with reference to the National Planning Policy Guidance as well as utilising best practice information as set out in the National Standards for Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) and Ciria SuDS Manual (C753).

Technical Notes:

Rainfall Interception

Infiltration Testing and Groundwater Monitoring

Flood Risk Modelling

Flood Compensation

Amenity and Biodiversity

Maintenance

Phasing Plans and Construction Risks

Deep-bore Soakaways

Verification Reports

We have created a surface water check list for developers in order to assist them in providing the correct information in regard to surface water management and signposting where to find it. Please complete this check list and include with your Flood Risk Assessment when applying to your Local Planning Authority for planning permission.