Scottish Water Feasibility Study

Description

The Council has been in discussions with Scottish Water about surface water run-off from new developments. Following on from these discussions, an initial agreement has been reached that additional surface water run-off arising from new development could be off set through the creation of off-site containment areas (within the same water catchment area). Using this ‘credit scheme’ could allow for the more strategic use of land sites, make constrained sites more developable and result in significant cost savings to development. However, these ‘credits’ would only be used where options 1-4 as outlined within Scottish Water’s Surface Water Policy were either unviable or ‘financially’ unviable. The Growth Team would like to appoint an external consultant to identify suitable sites for the creation of water catchment areas followed by the assessment and design of drainage options and / or water storage solutions. Initially the scope of the project would concentrate on the identification of sites already owned by the Council which are on the “Vacant and Derelict Land Register”, but this could be widened to include other sites if no suitable vacant and derelict land is found. In March 2020, as part of its ‘One Plan - One Place’ programme, North Lanarkshire Council’s Policy & Strategy committee, approved significant capital investment for reshaping its Town Centres, creating new ‘Town and Community Hubs’ and promoting new models for connecting our communities and place. This commitment built on the Council’s existing investment plans to replace all pre-1996 school facilities, deliver transport improvements through our City Deal Programme, replace all of the Council’s high-rise tower blocks and deliver 5,000 new modernised public sector homes. This GBP3.5Bn programme of work is now underway. However, to ensure the strategic and effective delivery of investment, this needs to be closely aligned with wider infrastructure strategies, policies and plans. Of particular importance, wider alignment with utilities infrastructure plans and strategies is required to meet the following objectives to: - ensure that the Council can address development constraints through innovative solutions (particularly in some of North Lanarkshire’s town centres and difficult to develop sites); - offer value for money/reduced costs; - better direct appropriate land use and help the Council meet strategic goals for town centre regeneration; and - help avoid potential ‘digging-up’ or ‘double-digging’ of our streetscape and road and path networks. Scottish Water’s Surface Water Policy focuses on ensuring that development does not result in a net gain in surface water drainage to its combined sewer network. In doing so it outlines a 5 stage hierarchy of options policy, with each stage having to be tested and evidenced before the next option can be considered (with the aim, where possible, to promote surface water containment on site rather than dispersal). The intention of this policy is to reduce the incidences of sewer flooding and reducing its carbon footprint by pumping and treating a higher concentration of effluent (less dilution with surface water) at its wastewater treatment works. The Council has already found that in our town centre and urban development sites, initial options may be challenging as dispersal into existing watercourses may not only be costly but could require digging up existing high-quality streetscape. Scottish Water are developing advanced surface drainage modelling techniques which may present joint opportunities to dispose of surface water sustainably. In early discussions with Scottish Water, there has been agreement in principle that additional surface water flows which can’t be managed on site arising from new development could be off-set through the creation of off-site containment areas (within the same water catchment area). Using this ‘credit scheme’ to manage the remainder of flows which can’t be managed on site could allow for the more strategic use of land sites and better catchment management of surface water. This would make sites with complex and difficult drainage issues more developable and result in significant cost savings to development. However, these ‘credits’ would only be used as a last resort where hierarchy options 1-4 as outlined within Scottish Water’s Surface Water Policy were either unviable or ‘financially’ unviable.