Revisiting Our SuDS Landscape at Fittleworth Village School

It’s been a while since we shared our work here — we know, far too long!

Although our website and social media have been rather quiet, we certainly haven’t been. Over the past year, we have been working on a number of substantial landscape projects, including this large-scale sustainable drainage scheme at a school in Fittleworth.

We recently returned to the site to see how the planting was establishing and to inspect one of our favourite details from the project: a rainwater planter connected to a wider network of channels and swales.

More than a planted feature

At first glance, the rainwater planter may appear to be an attractive planted area alongside the school building. However, it also performs an important role within the site’s sustainable drainage system.

Rainwater from the school building is directed into the planter, where it can be temporarily held, slowed and filtered through the planting and soil.

From there, the water feeds into a series of cobble channels. These channels guide it through the landscape and towards a swale that wraps around the school playground.

Rather than moving rainwater immediately into conventional underground drainage, the system allows it to travel visibly through the landscape. This helps reduce the speed of runoff while also creating opportunities for planting, wildlife and outdoor learning.

What is SuDS?

SuDS stands for Sustainable Drainage Systems.

These systems are designed to manage surface water in a way that more closely reflects how rainwater would behave in a natural landscape. Depending on the design, they can help:

• Slow the movement of rainwater

• Temporarily store water during periods of heavy rainfall

• Reduce pressure on conventional drainage systems

• Filter pollutants from surface water

• Support biodiversity and wildlife

• Create attractive and educational landscape features

At Fittleworth, the rainwater planter, cobble channels and surrounding swale all work together as part of one connected system.

Returning to see the landscape develop

One of the most rewarding parts of landscape construction is returning after completion and seeing how a project has begun to mature.

The planting within and around the rainwater planter is filling out well, softening the hard landscaping and creating a much richer environment beside the school building.

These return visits are also important from a practical perspective. SuDS landscapes are working systems, so checking how the water routes, planting and different construction details are performing forms an important part of understanding the completed project.

Delivered through a challenging winter

We spent several months working at Fittleworth, and the rainwater planter represents only one small element of the wider scheme.

The project involved extensive groundwork, drainage features, specialist construction and planting across the school grounds. Delivering work of this scale during winter brought plenty of challenges, with wet weather and difficult ground conditions making progress considerably more demanding.

Despite those conditions, it was a hugely rewarding project to deliver and one that demonstrates how functional drainage infrastructure can become an attractive and integral part of a school landscape.

Designed by Robert Bray Associates

The scheme was designed by Robert Bray Associates, specialists in SuDS and landscape-led water management.

It is another brilliant design that we are extremely proud to have delivered. The project brings together practical surface-water management, robust construction, thoughtful planting and distinctive visual details.

Specialist metalwork by HTDS

A special thank you must also go to Nick and the team at HTDS for the exceptional metalwork created for the scheme.

The bespoke rainwater channels look spectacular and give the project a strong, distinctive character. Their form and craftsmanship help turn a functional route for rainwater into one of the landscape’s standout features.

Projects of this scale are always collaborative, and we look forward to sharing more about the brilliant people and specialist contractors who helped bring the scheme to life.

More from Fittleworth to come

This rainwater planter is just one detail within a much larger project.

Over the coming weeks, we will be sharing more photographs from Fittleworth, including the wider SuDS network, construction process, planting and the different features installed throughout the school grounds.

After such a long break from posting, we have plenty of completed work to show.