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Development & Consent
Compliance & Enforcement
Effective Watercourse Networks
Our WMA Member Boards work to ensure the watercourse networks within their Drainage Districts operate efficiently to ensure that flood risk is not increased by third party works / actions. This is primarily achieved by:
- Enforcing compliance with the Board’s regulatory requirements (including Byelaws). This includes monitoring third party works to ensure any conditions of Land Drainage Consents are met.
- Ensuring landowners are aware, and act upon, their responsibilities relating to watercourse maintenance.
Unconsented Works
Internal Drainage Boards (IDBs) have powers to regulate (consent and enforce against) third party activities affecting watercourses within their District. The Land Drainage Act 1991 and the Board’s Byelaws require applicant’s to obtain the Board’s prior written consent prior to undertaking certain types of activities within a Boards Drainage District. Where works are undertaken without the Board’s prior written consent, the Board will initially seek to work with private owners to seek their cooperation in removing, amending or regularising the contravention within a reasonable timescale. Where an amicable resolution is no longer likely to be achieved formal enforcement powers are available to the Board, as set out within the Board’s Byelaws and Sections 21, 24 and 25 of the Land Drainage Act 1991.
Private Watercourse Maintenance
Generally watercourses within IDB Internal Drainage Districts (“IDDs”), are the responsibility of riparian landowners to maintain, repair and improve as necessary to ensure effective drainage. A ‘riparian landowner’ is a person who owns land or property adjacent to a watercourse, including dry or piped watercourses.
Purchasers of property are often unaware of their inherited duties.
The government has produced a number of web pages that explain riparian responsibilities and the need for maintenance of watercourses. These are available using the following link: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/owning-a-watercourse.
The role of the IDB as a regulator is key in ensuring positive action is undertaken by riparian landowners. The Board will initially seek to work with private owners to seek their cooperation in undertaking any required works or actions must be taken within a reasonable timescale. Where an amicable resolution is no longer likely to be achieved, formal enforcement powers are available to the Board (as set out within the Board’s Byelaws and Sections 21 and 25 of the Land Drainage Act 1991).
Initial Enforcement Procedure (Stage 1):
Stage 1 is intended to be a pre-cursor to any formal enforcement action and should initiate open correspondence with the relevant landowner, person and/or Risk Management Authority. The aims of stage 1 are as follows:
- Inform landowners of their responsibilities under the Land Drainage Act 1991 and the Board’s Byelaws.
- To seek the removal of contraventions which are impacting flood risk or the Board’s Operations without the need for formal enforcement action.
- To seek the regularisation or removal of contraventions which are not impacting flood risk or the Board’s Operations.
To achieve the aims of Stage 1 the Board’s Officers may write a letter to the relevant landowner, person and/or Risk Management Authority responsible for the contravention. This will include an explanation of the contravention, its impact and the remedy required in accordance with the Land Drainage Act 1991 and the Board’s Byelaws and the timeframe for the work to be undertaken (usually 21 days from the date of the letter).
If a positive response to the IDB letter has not been received within the timescale specified, and on inspection no work has been satisfactorily undertaken, the case may proceed to ‘Stage 2’. In deciding whether or not to carry out further investigation the Board will consider whether it is in the public interest to do so having regard to the actual and potential impacts of the contravention, the costs of carrying out the works and the likelihood of obtaining sufficient evidence to support enforcement action.
Formal Enforcement Action (Stage 2):
Where further action is pursued by the Board, Stage 2 is intended to enable officers to draw on formal powers of enforcement, to ensure that a contravention of the Land Drainage Act 1991 (including Byelaws) is removed where this contravention is negatively impacting Flood Risk or the Board’s Operations. The aims of stage 2 are as follows:
- Serve a formal Notice under the relevant section of the Land Drainage Act 1991 or the Board’s Byelaws. The notice will include the nature of the work to be carried out, the period within which it is to be carried out and any relevant right of appeal.
- To remove contraventions of the Land Drainage Act 1991 on behalf of the landowner where they have failed to meet the requirement of the aforementioned Notice and reclaim the Board’s costs.
A Notice under the Land Drainage Act 1991 or the Boards byelaws is a legal document formally requiring specific work to be carried out within a set timescale. In the event of the works not being undertaken, the IDB may carry out the work itself and recover from the person responsible the expenses reasonably incurred in doing so which will include recovering the costs of pursuing the case.
As far as possible, officers will continue to seek to resolve the situation by means of negotiation with the person responsible.
Enforcement Policy
Where responsibility for maintenance of ordinary watercourses rests with a land owner, the Board will take appropriate steps to secure their co-operation to ensure maintenance takes place. Where necessary the Board will draw on powers of enforcement to secure this maintenance of the removal of any unauthorised works or obstruction.
The WMA member boards will take a risk-based and proportionate approach to exercising their regulatory powers under the Land Drainage Act 1991 and byelaws, taking into account the location and nature of any contravention, nuisance or flooding caused by;
- the failure to repair or maintain watercourses, bridges or drainage works
- un-consented works including works within 9* metres of the edge of drainage and flood risk management infrastructure
- impediments to the proper flow of water
This approach will take into account whether the contraventions have or are likely to increase flood risk and what the consequences of any increase in risk may be.
Where works are un-consented the relevant IDB would require the landowner or responsible person to prove that the un-consented works do not cause a nuisance or increase flood risk. Where the landowner or responsible person provides insufficient evidence to the contrary, there will be a presumption that the un-consented works would cause a nuisance or increase flood risk.
The Board may close an enforcement case file and/or take no action where;
- there is a lack of physical evidence to corroborate the impact of a flood event;
- there is no actual or potential risk to properties or infrastructure;
- that the matter complained of is not the cause of the drainage problem;
- the matter is trivial in nature (de minimis)
Where no enforcement action is taken correspondence may inform and advise individuals of their riparian owner responsibilities and of the route for settling disputes with other riparian owners where appropriate including referral to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) Agricultural Land and Drainage where appropriate.
Where the Board are made aware of breaches to other legislation they will advise the appropriate authorities.
*7 metres within the Waveney, Lower Yare and Lothingland IDD