Planning and Water Toolkit

The planning and water toolkit supports local planning authorities to achieve better outcomes for water through planning including providing planners with a clear way to integrate strategic requirements into planning policy.

The planning and water toolkit has been designed to support local planning authority planning specialists in considering water within their role. The toolkit aims to help local planning authorities achieve better outcomes for water through the planning system. It also seeks to streamline the planning process by providing clear guidance to prevent water-related issues from slowing down decisions. It will do this by providing prompts and direction so that water can be thought about early, discussed and planned for upfront.

The toolkit includes:

practical advice
links to resources

You can easily download items from the Planning and Water Toolkit by clicking this link, it is also available in the resources section of this website. We've made several items available for download. Check the key downloads below for more details. There are supporting resources to support your use of the toolkit that are listed below.

written user guide

instructional video (coming soon)

We created the toolkit based on evidence collected between 2023 and 2024 from the Oxford to Cambridge area. The toolkit could be used by other Local Authorities across England, with the understanding that there may be some gaps for these locations. When using the toolkit please remember that local planning policy and the wider policy context are constantly evolving.

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download the toolkit here

Key downloads

Policy case studies technical note

This note provides examples of what makes a good policy.

Policy development checklist development management checklist

Use these checklists to refer to relevant water information at each key planning stage. Consider sharing and/or publishing your responses to demonstrate how you have incorporated the water system into the development of your local plan.

pre-application guidance

This note is designed to:

Help applicants understand how their proposals may affect the water environment during the pre-application process.
Help applicants avoid negative impacts, while identifying opportunities to enhance the water environment.

We encourage local planning authorities to share this note with applicants to support effective pre-application discussions.

conditions technical note

This note offers examples of drafting conditions which ensure development includes necessary improvements to protect and support the water environment.

For instance, West Oxfordshire Council included the following condition in an October 2023 planning consent to ensure adequate water resources for the development.

“No development shall be occupied until confirmation has been provided that either:

all water network upgrades required to accommodate the additional demand to serve the development have been completed; or
a development and infrastructure phasing plan has been agreed with Thames Water to allow development to be occupied.

Where a development and infrastructure phasing plan is agreed no occupation shall take place other than in accordance with the agreed development and infrastructure phasing plan.

Reason: The development may lead to no/low water pressure and network reinforcement works are anticipated to be necessary to ensure that sufficient capacity is made available to accommodate additional demand anticipated from the new development.”

Signposting to Cambridgeshire County Council’s surface water planning guidance for additional advice on condition wording is also included.

Check out the Planning for the Natural Environment & Water Toolkit

Along with our work, as part of Natural Course EU LIFE Integrated Project the Environment Agency have been working with Greater Manchester Combined Authority to create the Planning for the Natural Environment & Water Toolkit. This is your go to resource for River Basin Management Plan objectives and meeting the broader goals of the Water Environment (England & Wales) Regulations 2017, formerly known as the Water Framework Directive.

Our Planning and Water toolkit provides guidance and resources covering all water disciplines. The Planning for the Natural Environment and Water Toolkit is more specific, focusing on Water Framework and river health.

click here