sustainable drainage systems SuDS success celebrated at inaugural Awards
More than 100 guests gathered in London’s iconic City Hall Living Room last night to celebrate the inaugural susdrain SuDS Awards, supported by the Greater London Authority. Well-deserved winners were announced in three different categories, along with susdrain’s overall winner and our SuDS Champion as voted for by industry!
Established and led by susdrain, the awards showcase and recognise those delivering high quality sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) and attracted over 40 case study entries from across the UK.
Attendees were treated to an impassioned call for rewilding of our urban areas by keynote speaker Theo Thomas, the London Waterkeeper. A summary from the Awards Chair, Andrew Eden, Environment Agency, left the audience with three key messages; strive for beauty, engage with stakeholders early, and consider communities and what will benefit them.
We are delighted to announce that the 2018 susdrain overall winner is Sheffield City Council for Grey to Green Phase 1 – a multi-phase regeneration project in Sheffield’s city centre, which aims to transform their Riverside Business District. The project demonstrates how using SuDS as a catalyst has turned a ‘grey’ redundant highway into ‘green’ flowering meadows and wetlands. The judges considered it to be the “epitome of high quality SuDS”.
Commenting on their win, Sheffield City Council’s Principal Landscape Architect, Zac Tudor said, “It’s great that Sheffield has been recognised for our ambitious and creative thinking behind the design of our new public places. Designers need to think wider than just a space looking good – spaces need to function for the future, building in climate change resilience and making landscapes work harder by providing multiple benefits. This includes creating places and settings to encourage regeneration, sustainable water management, biodiversity, and helping to reduce our city’s heat island effect but, most importantly of all helping us achieve a greater sense of wellbeing.”
Chryse Tinsley, SuDS Awards Champion 2018
Chryse Tinsley, Awards Champion said, “Winning this award is really important for me and Leicester City Council; it recognises our work and also reinforces our intent to do more and better SuDS for the city.”
Category winners
- Overall winner
- Sheffield City Council for Grey to Green Phase 1
- Retrofit SuDS Project
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- Sheffield City Council for Grey to Green Phase 1 – winner
- Groundwork London for Sustainable Drainage Estates – highly commended
- London Borough of Enfield for Alma Road Rain Gardens – commended
- The London Wildlife Trust for Southwell Road Community De-Pave Garden & Heron Court Rain Garden – commended
- New Build Small scale SuDS Award
- Watch Tower for Access Road at Jehovah’s Witnesses Britain Headquarters, Chelmsford– winner
- J&L Gibbons for Ruskin Square, Croydon – commended
- New Build Large Scale SuDS
- London Borough of Hillingdon for St Andrews Park, Uxbridge – winner
- Berkeley Group for Woodberry Down Regeneration, London – highly commended
- ABG for Rathbone Market, London – commended
- Peterborough City Council for Fleetwood Crescent, Peterborough – commended
- SuDS Champion
- Chryse Tinsley of Leicester City Council
The Awards category shortlists and full entries are available on the SusDrain website.
