Ordinary Watercourse Consent Application: Guidance Notes

1.1     The purpose of this document is to provide guidance on the procedures to be followed when making an application for works to Ordinary Watercourses within Cyngor Gwynedd, under the provisions of Section 23 of the Land Drainage Act 1991.

1.2     Matters that the Council will take into account when considering an application are also outlined.

1.3     These guidelines should be read in conjunction with the online application form for Ordinary Watercourse Consent and the Council’s policy regarding culverting (available on the Council’s website).  

Note: Applicants should check with the Council as to whether their proposals require planning permission under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. Additional consents may also be required for works on third party land. 

2.1     Under the provisions of the Land Drainage Act 1991 as amended by the Flood and Water Management Act 2010, Lead Local Flood Authorities now have a duty to control certain activities that might have an adverse impact on flood risk and the environment. 

2.2     To meet the requirements of the Act, any person proposing to undertake works likely to affect the flow in an ordinary watercourse, alter an existing structure, or erect a culvert must submit details of their proposals to the Council. Before considering a consent allowing the works to proceed, the Council may impose reasonable conditions on any proposals, which it considers necessary to satisfy its environmental duties and to control flood risk.

2.3     Riparian owners, developers, and all other persons proposing to carry out such works must, therefore, obtain Ordinary Watercourse Consent from the Council before the work commences.

2.4     Details of consentable activities (and also activities consentable under the Council’s Land Drainage Bylaws) are provided on the Council’s website. 

3.1     The term ‘watercourse’, as defined in the Land Drainage Act 1991 includes all rivers and streams and all ditches, drains, cuts, culverts, dikes, sluices, sewers (other than public sewers within the meaning of the Water Industry Act 1991) and passages, through which water flows. 

3.2     The term ‘ordinary watercourse’, as defined in the Land Drainage Act 1991 is a watercourse that does not form part of a main river. The Authority has regulatory powers in respect of ordinary watercourses within its boundaries.

3.3     In Wales works in or near main rivers require the consent of Natural Resources Wales. These Guidance Notes do not cover works affecting Main Rivers and NRW should be consulted before any work is undertaken.

4.1     Under Section 23 (2) of the Land Drainage Act 1991, the Council is authorised to charge an application fee in relation to an application for Ordinary Watercourse Consent. The fee payable is to cover the cost of examining and approving the proposals. The fee amount is currently £50.00 and is generally payable in respect of each separate structure forming part of the works, however similar activities on an individual site can be grouped into a single application.  Applicants are advised to confirm the fee payable via a pre-application discussion before an application is submitted.

4.2     The application form for Ordinary Watercourse Consent should be completed, detailing the number of structures (e.g. culverts, outfalls, crossings etc.) forming the elements of the project, as appropriate.

4.3     Fees are non-refundable if an application is refused and therefore the applicant is advised to contact us for advice prior to submission.

5.1     Applicants are advised to discuss their proposals with the Council before applying, to ensure they are aware of the principal    requirements for the work envisaged.

5.2     An online application should be completed with supporting drawings and other relevant documentation submitted as appropriate. Upon receipt of a full and complete application the Council has two months in which to grant or refuse consent.

5.3     This time period does not start until the Council is satisfied that the application including, where necessary, all plans, drawings, method statements and design calculations is complete in every respect.  The Council will notify the applicant on receipt of a satisfactory application.

5.4     The granting of Ordinary Watercourse Consent may be subject to conditions such as to the time and way the works are to be carried out, forms of construction, environmental mitigation works required, and the provisions to be made for future maintenance of the completed works.

5.5     A Consent granted by the Council is given solely for the purposes of the Land Drainage Act 1991 and should not be regarded by the applicant as in any way approving the design and soundness of any proposed structure.

5.6      The Council accepts no liability for the structural integrity, the future stability or the future maintenance of any works for which Consent may be given. These matters are the sole responsibility of the applicant.

5.7      Applicants are advised that an Ordinary Watercourse Consent does not override an adjacent landowner’s rights nor does it permit interference with legally protected wildlife habitats.

5.8     If the Council fails, two months after receipt of a full and complete application, to notify the applicant in writing of their determination with respect to the application, then consent is deemed to have been granted.

6.1     Applicants should be aware that the Council has a duty under various legislation, to conserve and enhance the natural environment. Therefore, we consider the nature conservation implications of any proposal, when determining an Ordinary Watercourse Consent application.

6.2     The applicant should consider the environmental implications of all options for the works to determine the least environmentally damaging solution. In most cases an ecological/environmental assessment report, prepared by a suitably qualified professional, will need to accompany the application. The assessment report should discuss potential impacts and opportunities associated with the proposed works regarding protected species and habitats and consider links to designated sites such as SSSIs and SACs.

6.3     Reference should be made to the Council’s Culverting Policy (see section 7 below), specifically the requirement to consider less intrusive and ecologically damaging options than culverting for new watercourse crossings.

6.3     The Authority shall obtain the advice of NRW and the Council’s Biodiversity Unit on any application it receives, in particular the impacts upon the natural environment.

6.4     Applicants are advised to contact the Council to discuss the scope of the ecological/environmental assessment prior to submission of an application. An application that is deemed incomplete will not be processed until all relevant information has been presented.

7.1     The Council’s Culverting Policy can be found on our website.

7.2     Cyngor Gwynedd is in general opposed to the culverting of watercourses because of the adverse ecological, flood risk, human safety and aesthetic impacts. We will consider each application to culvert a watercourse on its own merits and in accordance with our risk-based approach to permitting. We will only approve a culvert if there is no reasonably practicable alternative, or if we think the detrimental effects would be so minor that a more costly alternative would not be justified. In all cases where it is appropriate to do so, applicants must provide adequate mitigation measures and accept sole ownership and responsibility for future maintenance. 

7.3     There may be cases where culverting in practice is unavoidable (e.g. short lengths for access purposes or where highways cross watercourses). The applicant must demonstrate that reasonable alternatives (such as open span bridges or watercourse diversion) have been assessed and discounted prior to consideration being given to a culvert. In such cases the length involved should be restricted to a minimum, the hydraulic and environmental design fully assessed and appropriate mitigating measures to the surrounding environment included in the proposal.

Give us your full name or the name of your organisation. You must give us your full UK address. The address you give here will be the address your Ordinary Watercourse Consent will be registered to and will be shown on any consent we grant.

If you are applying as a company, give your office address registered with Companies House. If this address is outside the UK, give the address of your main UK office. We will not be able to process your application if you do not give us a UK address.

We need your phone numbers to contact you if we have any queries about your application and an out of hours phone number in case of out of hours problems.

If you are using someone to act on your behalf during the application process, please enter their details here. You can nominate someone other than the person named on any Ordinary Watercourse Consent (for example, a consultant or agent). You need to give us the relevant person’s full name, address and contact details.

We need to know what interest you have in the land where the works will be carried out (for example, whether you are the landowner or tenant). If any work will be carried out on land that you do not own, you will need permission from whoever owns the land.

We need to know who will be responsible for maintenance both during construction work and after the work has finished.

We need to be able to easily identify where the proposed works will be carried out. Please give details of:

• The location of the site;
• The name of the watercourse; and
• The National Grid Reference (12 figures) 

It is important that you accurately describe the proposals for the application being made. Please tell us the purpose of the works and the number of structures you need consent for.

You need separate consents for the permanent works and any temporary works that do not form part of the permanent works. Temporary works could include, for example, cofferdams (watertight enclosures) across a watercourse, or temporary diversions of water while work is carried out.

We need to know how you are proposing to carry out the work. So you need to send us a detailed method statement with your application that includes details of the specific measures you plan to take to keep disruption to a minimum and reduce any unwanted effects while the work is being carried out.

We need to know when you are proposing to carry out the work and how long you think it will take. When you are planning the work you need to make sure that you have allowed enough time for us to consider your application.

If consent is granted, the works will have to be completed within two years of the date of consent. You must give us at least one weeks notice of your intention to start work.

To consider your proposals we need to receive plans and drawings, drawn by a competent engineer or surveyor. You need to provide copies of all relevant drawings. Please note that general plans submitted with planning applications are not acceptable, and the drawing must be specific to the works within the watercourse.

Location Plan

This must be at an appropriate scale and be based on an Ordnance Survey map. It must clearly show the general location of the site where the proposed work will be carried out and include general features and street names. It must also identify the watercourse or other bodies of water in the surrounding area.

Site Plan

You must provide a plan of the site showing:

• The existing site, including any watercourse;
• Your proposals
• The position of any structures which may influence local river hydraulics, including bridges, pipes and ducts, ways of crossing the watercourse, culverts and screens, embankments, walls, outfalls and so on

The plan should be drawn to an appropriate scale, which must be clearly stated.

Cross sections

Where works encroach into any watercourse, the you should provide cross sections both upstream and downstream of the proposed works. Cross sections should be drawn as if looking downstream on the watercourse and should include details of existing and proposed features and water levels.

Longitudinal sections

Longitudinal sections taken along the centre line of the watercourse are needed. These must show the existing and proposed features including water levels, bed levels and structures. They should extend both upstream and downstream of the proposed work.

Detailed drawings

These are to show details of the existing and proposed features such as the following:

• Detailed design drawings and sections.
• The materials to be used for any structures.
• The location of any proposed service pipes or cables which may affect the future maintenance of the watercourse.
• Details of any tree, shrub, hedgerow, pond or wetland area that may be affected by the proposed works.
• Details of any planting or seeding.
• Dams and weirs. (We need a plan showing the extent of the water impounded (held back) under normal and flood conditions so that we can assess the possible effect on land next to the river. The plan must also show any land drains to be affected.)

Please refer to section 6 above. 

Tick the relevant documents in this section so that we know what you are sending.

Please tick the appropriate boxes.

If you answer “yes” to any of the questions, you will probably need additional licenses or consents from Natural Resources Wales before you start work. You must make sure that you have all the approvals you need before you submit your application for Ordinary Watercourse Consent. We will need to see copies of any consents.

Please provide details of any planning permissions you may have or are applying for that relates to this proposal.

Make sure you understand how we will use the information you provide to us.

By completing this section, you are declaring that, as far as you know, the information you have provided, including any supporting documents, is correct. We will not accept any application that is not signed.

• If you are applying as a company which has trustees, all trustees must sign the declaration.
• If you are applying as a limited company, a company secretary or a director must sign the declaration.