Land Drainage Consents
If you are planning on carrying out works in or near a watercourse, you may need a land drainage consent from Flintshire County Council. These works include but are not limited to building any structure (even a temporary one), landscaping works including planting near (within 8 meters) an ordinary watercourse and any diversions of watercourses.
Even if you have planning permission or other consents you may still require consent from us for work on/adjacent to ordinary watercourses.
Under the Land Drainage Act 1991 Section 23 the erection or alteration of any mill dam, culvert, weir or other like obstruction to the flow of an ordinary watercourse requires consent from Flintshire County Council as the Lead Local Flood Authority (LLFA).
The regulation consists of 2 elements:
- the issuing of consents for any changes to ordinary watercourses that might obstruct or alter the flow of an ordinary watercourse
- enforcement action to rectify unlawful and potentially damaging work to a watercourse
An Ordinary Watercourse is any watercourse which is not considered main river. This includes streams, ditches, drains, cuts, culverts (piped sections), dikes, sluices, sewers (other than public severs) and passages, through which water flows. It is worth noting that sometimes a watercourse with 'river' in its name may not be considered a main river.
For works concerning main rivers, Natural Resources Wales are the consenting authority. You can find out where the main rivers are using Natural Resources Wales Flood Map.
Ordinary watercourse consent is required for:
- Any work which will directly alter the flow of water
- Any culverting work (erection or new culverts, alteration of existing culverts)
It is recommended that you contact us via the email FloodRiskManagement@Flintshire.gov.uk to discuss your proposal to ascertain whether consent is required.
Note: Separate consents are required for work which requires both temporary and permanent structures.
You need to apply for consent at least 2 months before starting any work. If the necessary documents required to make a decision are not supplied, we will need to extend the timescales until we have seen and approved all relevant information.
If work has already started or been completed without an ordinary watercourse consent, Flintshire Council may require the watercourse be returned to its original state in accordance with the land drainage act.
Before completing the application form, we recommended that you contact us for advice on your proposal. To apply for land drainage consent, download and complete the form titled 'Ordinary Watercourse Consent Application Form' found in the useful documents section. Once a full application and payment has been received, the law gives us 2 months from date whichever of the following is received the latest: (1) Full application or (2) Payment date.
You can email the completed form, all additional documentation required and gain payment details from floodriskmanagement@flintshire.gov.uk
The fee for land drainage consent is £50 per structure or piece of work. Details can be found in the guidance notes of the application form. If you are unsure how many structures your plans will involve, please contact us to confirm payment and further details.
When you get consent, you must follow the points and conditions (i.e timing) it sets out within the consent.
Any works carried out without consent will be required to be removed and the watercourse put back to its original condition, there is no procedure for retrospective approval.