Key Points
- Cardiff’s Canal Quarter project has won national recognition at this year’s Susdrain SuDS Awards.
- The scheme took the Welsh Project and Schedule 3 Spotlight Award, a new category introduced to recognise SuDS projects in Wales.
- Judges praised the project’s amenity and biodiversity benefits, as well as its flood mitigation and water quality improvements.
- The development has been delivered as part of a wider regeneration programme in Cardiff city centre.
- Cardiff Council said the project shows how sustainable drainage can support flood risk reduction, public realm improvements and investment in the area.
- The project was delivered by Cardiff Council, AtkinsRéalis and Knights Brown.
- The scheme is linked to the implementation of Schedule 3 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 in Wales.
Cardiff (Cardiff Daily) July 28, 2026, that Cardiff’s Canal Quarter project has received national recognition after winning a top honour at the Susdrain SuDS Awards, with the city’s sustainable drainage-led regeneration singled out by judges for its environmental and public realm value.
As reported by the Business News Wales coverage, the project won the Welsh Project and Schedule 3 Spotlight Award, a category introduced this year to celebrate the success of SuDS projects in Wales.
The award places Cardiff’s Canal Quarter among schemes recognised for combining surface water management with wider benefits for people, wildlife and local places.
The report said the recognition underlines Cardiff’s role in implementing Schedule 3 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 in Wales, which sets out requirements for sustainable drainage systems in urban areas. The Canal Quarter project was also presented as part of the city’s broader effort to reshape central Cardiff through regeneration that includes environmental design, public space improvements and investment attraction.
What did the judges praise?
According to the award coverage, judges highlighted the Canal Quarter’s significant amenity and biodiversity benefits, noting that the project showed how flood mitigation and water quality improvements can be incorporated into wider regeneration schemes.
That framing is important because the award was not just about drainage engineering, but also about how the scheme improves the surrounding urban environment.
The project’s recognition also reflects a wider shift in how drainage infrastructure is being judged, with more emphasis on whether a scheme can deliver multiple outcomes at once. In this case, those outcomes include managing surface water, reducing flood risk, improving water quality and supporting biodiversity.facebook+1
The award organisers said SuDS projects are intended to protect and enhance the places where people live and work while offering sustainable and cost-effective ways of handling surface water.
Canal Quarter was therefore presented as an example of drainage infrastructure that is integrated into the design of a public space rather than hidden beneath it.
Who delivered the project?
The article stated that the Canal Quarter scheme was funded by Cardiff Council, designed by AtkinsRéalis and constructed by Knights Brown.
The project team attended the awards ceremony in Newcastle upon Tyne, where the accolade was collected by representatives from AtkinsRéalis.
Cardiff Council’s Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Sustainable Planning and Transport, Cllr Dan De’Ath, said the award recognised the project’s broader value beyond drainage.
In the council’s quoted statement, he said sustainable drainage systems can do far more than manage surface water and reduce flood risk.
He added that combining SuDS with high-quality public realm improvements and enhanced biodiversity had helped transform part of Cardiff city centre while also supporting wider investment and regeneration in the area. That explanation positions the project as both an environmental measure and an economic development tool.
How does it fit Cardiff’s regeneration?
The reporting described Canal Quarter as a redevelopment project that has already made a significant contribution to this part of the city centre. The scheme has been linked with the creation of a new public space and with environmental gains that support the area’s longer-term renewal.
AtkinsRéalis also described the project as reconnecting city, water and public space, with rain gardens and permeable paving used to manage surface water and divert it away from the sewer system into the canal.
The company said the system reduces flood risk and energy use in water treatment, while also improving urban cooling and biodiversity.
The project information published by AtkinsRéalis said the SuDS interventions prevent about 3,900 cubic metres of water from entering the sewer system each year.
It also said the scheme delivers annual energy savings in sewage pumping and emissions reductions, alongside ecological enhancements such as wetland habitats.
Why is Schedule 3 important?
The award category itself points to the importance of Schedule 3 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 in Wales.
This framework is designed to set out the requirements for sustainable drainage systems, particularly in urban areas where surface water management is closely tied to development design.
The recognition of Canal Quarter suggests that SuDS are increasingly being treated as a core part of development planning rather than as a technical afterthought.
That matters because urban regeneration schemes often face pressure to balance construction, flood resilience, environmental quality and public use in the same footprint.
The judges’ focus on biodiversity and public realm value also shows how drainage policy is now connected to place-making. In practice, this means drainage features such as rain gardens and permeable surfaces can be judged not only by how they handle water, but also by how they improve the experience of the city.
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Background of this development
Susdrain has been recognising outstanding SuDS projects and champions across the UK since 2018. The awards are intended to show case projects that deliver sustainable and cost-effective surface water solutions while improving the places around them.
Cardiff has previously been associated with other green infrastructure and SuDS-led projects, including “Greener Grangetown”, which won the overall susdrain award in 2020.
That history helps explain why Cardiff projects continue to appear in national drainage and sustainability discussions.
The Canal Quarter project sits within that broader Welsh approach to integrating water management into city-making.
Its award therefore reflects not just a single development, but a growing emphasis on drainage, biodiversity and regeneration working together in urban Wales.
Prediction
For Cardiff residents and city-centre users, the development is likely to strengthen the case for more regeneration projects that include visible environmental design rather than conventional hard infrastructure. It may also increase public expectation that new schemes should reduce flood risk while improving public space and wildlife habitat.
For planners, developers and contractors, the award may encourage more use of SuDS in city projects because it demonstrates that such schemes can win national recognition while also supporting regeneration goals.
For communities affected by surface water flooding, it may help build confidence that drainage investment can deliver practical and local benefits over time.
