Byelaws
Under the Land Drainage Act 1991 Drainage Boards have a duty to exercise a general supervision over all matters relating to the drainage of land within its district. Also contained within this Act are the various permissive legal powers (ie they are not a requirement on the Board) that permit a Board to undertake the operation, maintenance and improvement of any watercourse in its area. (Main Rivers are excluded from this power).
To assist a Drainage Board in undertaking these roles, Section 66 of the Land Drainage Act 1991 allows a Board to create Byelaws that control all activities within 9 metres of all watercourses. All the Consortium Boards have created Byelaws and they are available for downloading on this site. Boards may permit certain works or structures to be erected or undertaken within the Byelaw zone but a formal consenting system must be followed. The Boards have also adopted policies on their approach to the consenting of works in a watercourse or within 9 metres of that watercourse. These policies can be downloaded from the site.
Section 23 of the Act also provides a requirement to seek a consent from the Board when culverting or obstructing a watercourse.
A consenting system exists to ensure that any proposed works do not endanger life or damage land and property elsewhere by increasing the risk of flooding
The relevant Board must receive details of any proposed works affecting watercourses, and grant permission for the work to proceed, requesting any modifications, which may be necessary. Consequently, riparian owners and developers must obtain a Land Drainage Consent from the Board before the work commences. (Where the watercourse is a Main River, consent from the Environment Agency, rather than the Board, is required.)
Consents (top of page)
Applications for Consents should normally be made by the landowner or their agent and should only apply for works on land owned by the applicant. Application for Consent for works on land not owned or under the control of the applicant will only be accepted with written agreement of the third party and appended to the application.
Application forms for Land Drainage Consents may be obtained from the Clerk to the Board or downloaded from the Consortium site. Upon receipt of the application, accompanied by the application fee (see application form), the Board has two months in which to grant or refuse a consent under Section 23 of the Act for culverting. Byelaw Consent however has no time limit but we aim to determine an application in two months (unless you agree to an extension of this time). This time does not start to run until the Board is satisfied that the application (including all necessary plans and calculations) are complete in every respect. The granting of a Land Drainage Consent may be subject to conditions such as the time and manner in which the work may be carried out.
You are strongly advised to discuss your proposal with the Board's Engineer before submitting your application to ensure you are informed of the principal requirements for the work you envisage.
For minor works on non Board maintained watercourses (ie not a Viewed Rhyne) the Board may not seek to apply the full consenting process but may deal with the matter by letter.
Consents relating to the Environmental Stewardship Higher Level Schemes (HLS)
If you are applying for a consent for works associated with an HLS application, then please note the following requirements:
The Board will need to be assured that any changes to the operation of drainage and water level management that occurs as a result of an Environmental Stewardship HL Scheme will not lead to adverse effects. Applications for Consent will need to show the extent of all land affected by the change in water level management as well as the total extent of the applicants land holding in the adjacent area.
The plans must show the location of all water level control structures existing or proposed and works to be undertaken. (This includes any bunds).
Details of how the area will receive any water for achieving higher levels in winter as well as irrigation needed in the summer period must be set out.
Operating arrangements for any structures will also need to be set out for agreement by the Board.
Details of previous Consents relating to the land contained within the application will assist in minimising the time required to process the application. The Board would wish to see that local consultation with adjacent owners or occupiers has occurred and that any adverse impacts have been mitigated for and are acceptable to affected parties.
Right of Appeal (top of page)
If you believe that a Land Drainage Consent had been unreasonably withheld, or that the conditions that have been imposed are unreasonable, you have a right of appeal to an independent arbitrator.
Failure to Obtain Land Drainage Consent (top of page)
The failure to obtain a Land Drainage Consent prior to carrying out the works may be a criminal offence. Any person acting in contravention of any of the Board's Byelaws, or Section 23 of the Land Drainage Act 1991, may be liable, on conviction, to a fine of up to £5,000, and to a further fine of up to £40 for every day on which the contravention is continued after conviction.
Under Section 24 or 66 of the Land Drainage Act 1991 the Board has the power (without prejudice to any other criminal proceedings) to take such action as may be necessary to remedy the effect of the contravention or failure to obtain consent, and to recover the expenses reasonably incurred by it in so doing from the person in default.
Other Permissions (top of page)
The issue of a Land Drainage Consent by the Board does not absolve a person proposing to execute works from the need to obtain any other licences, consents or permissions which may be required by law. The Board issues Land Drainage Consents under the Drainage Board Byelaws and the Land Drainage Act 1991. It is the applicant's responsibility to ensure that any other necessary permission from other authorities or undertakers is obtained.
