Statutory guidance

North West region flood defence and land drainage byelaws

Published 28 September 2022

The North West Water Authority established these byelaws in 1979. They transferred to the National Rivers Authority in 1989, and to the Environment Agency in 1995. The Environment Agency continue to operate these byelaws.

In 2016, some byelaws were transferred to the environmental permit regulations (EPR). The byelaws that transferred to the EPR are now disapplied. They have not been legally repealed but, due to other legislation, are not used any more.

This document only details the byelaws still in use – this means the numbered byelaws are not sequential.

These byelaws manage activities that are not covered by the EPR for flood risk. They apply to activities around main rivers, flood and sea defences and flood plains.

Map: North West region

These byelaws cover the north-west coast of England from Carlisle in the north to Chester and inland through Crewe, Manchester, Settle and Kirkby Stephen.

If you need help to understand how and where the byelaws apply contact your local Environment Agency office.

Land Drainage Byelaws

These byelaws were later enforced by the North West Region of the Environment Agency. These byelaws are now enforced by the Environment Agency: all references to North West Water Authority, water authority or authority, should now read Environment Agency.

North West Water Authority

The North West Water Authority under and by virtue of the powers and authority vested in them by Section 34 of the Land Drainage Act, 1976 do make the following Byelaws for securing the efficient working of the land drainage system in their Area:

1. Area of effect

These Byelaws shall have effect within the Water Authority Area and, except where the context otherwise requires, apply only to the main river (hereinafter called “the river”).

2. Maintenance and operation of structures and appliances

Any person having control of any valve, sluice, floodgate, lock, weir, dam, pump, pumping machinery, or any other structure or appliance for controlling or regulating or affecting the flow of water in, into, or out of the river, or for drawing water from or delivering water into the river shall:-

(1) maintain such valve, sluice, floodgate, lock, weir, dam, pump, pumping machinery, structure or appliance in a proper state of repair and efficiency to the satisfaction of the Authority; and

(2) use such valve, sluice, floodgate, lock, weir, dam, pump, pumping machinery, structure or appliance in such a manner. as not to interfere with the efficient working of the drainage system of the Water Authority Area and in particular shall use such valve, sluice, floodgate, lock, weir, dam, pump, pumping machinery, structure or appliance in accordance with such reasonable directions as may from time to time be given by the Authority with a view to the prevention of flooding, or any shortage in the flow or supply of water and to the efficient working of the drainage system of the Authority Area

Provided (i) that this Byelaw shall apply also to the regulation of the use or any such structures or appliances as are therein mentioned which regulate the flow of water from any watercourse into the river: and (ii) that this Byelaw shall not be construed as relating to the Great Culvert, Birkenhead or any mechanism, structure or appliance therein or related thereto

4. Prohibition on discharging matter

No person shall so as to directly or indirectly obstruct, impede or interfere with the flow of water in, into or out of the river or so as to damage the bank:

(a) discharge or put or cause or permit to be discharged or put or negligently or wilfully cause or permit to fall into the river any object or matter of any kind whatsoever whether solid or liquid.

(b) allow any such object or matter as is referred to in paragraph (a) of this Byelaw to remain in proximity to the river in such manner as to render the same liable to drift or fall or be carried into the river. Provided nothing in this Byelaw shall be deemed · to render unlawful the growing or harvesting of crops.

5. Notice to repair buildings or structures

Any person who is responsible for the maintenance in proper repair of any building or structure in, under or over the river or on the bank thereof shall on receipt of a notice from the Authority that the building or structure is or is becoming or is likely to become by reason of its disrepair an obstruction to the flow of water in the river or causing damage to the river or to the bank thereof carry out to the satisfaction of the Authority such reasonable and practicable repairs other works as may be specified in the notice and are necessary for the purpose of remedying the obstruction or of preventing such damage to the river or the bank thereof. Provided that Byelaw 32(a) shall not apply to a notice to be given or served by the Authority under this Byelaw.

6. Obstruction by sunken vessels

No person who is the owner of any sunken vessel or in the case of a sunken vessel which is abandoned who was the owner immediately before the abandonment, shall, after receipt of notice from the Authority that the vessel is causing obstruction or impeding or harmfully diverting the flow of water, permit that vessel to remain in the river in such a manner as to obstruct, impede or harmfully divert the flow of water in, into or out of the river.

8. Damage by animals

Any person using or causing or permitting to be used any bank of the river or land adjoining or abutting upon such a bank for the purpose of grazing or keeping any animal thereon shall comply with such directions as are necessary and reasonably practicable (including direction as to fencing) as may from time to time be given to him by the Authority for the purpose of preventing the bank or the channel of the river from being damaged as a result of or in connection with such use: provided that the giving of such direction shall not prejudice the power of the Authority in any way they think fit to assist the person to whom such direction shall be given in the carrying out of the same: and provided further that nothing in this Byelaw shall be deemed to affect or prevent the use of any place made or constructed with the approval of the Authority for the purpose of enabling stock to drink or for the purpose of enabling stock to pass over a bank .

9. Control of animals during works

The occupier of any land through which the river flows or which abuts on the river shall, if required to do so by an officer of the Authority, secure that, during the progress of any work carried out by the Authority on such land or on so much of the river as is coextensive therewith, bulls, horses, dogs or dangerous animals are not kept on that land or, if kept thereon, are kept under proper control and supervision.

10. Prohibition of vehicles or horses

No person shall use or drive or permit or cause to be used or driven any vehicle of any kind whatsoever whether mechanically propelled or not or ride any horse on over or along any bank or drainage work in such a manner as to cause damage to or endanger the stability of such bank or drainage work.

14. Prohibition of storage on river banks

No person shall use or cause or permit to be used any bank or any drainage work for the purpose of depositing or stacking or storing or keeping any rubbish or goods or any material or things thereon in such manner as by reason of the weight or volume or nature of such rubbish goods material or things to cause damage to or to endanger the stability of the bank or any drainage work or interfere with the right of the Authority to deposit spoil on the bank or otherwise to prevent the carrying out of land drainage works. Nothing in this Byelaw shall prohibit the making of hay and straw sacks, or the depositing, stacking, storing, or keeping of any goods materials or things on the bank or drainage work where the consent of the Authority has previously been obtained.

16. Cutting vegetation on river banks

The occupier of a bank or any part thereof shall on reasonable notice given by the Authority cut down from time to time as may be necessary such trees, shrubs, brambles, and other vegetation as may be specified growing on the bank.

17. Cutting vegetation on non-main river tributaries

The person having control of any watercourse or ·flash shall upon being required by the Authority by notice in writing within such reasonable time as may be therein specified cut such trees, shrubs, brambles, and other vegetation as may be specified growing on the bank of the watercourse or flash: Provided that this Byelaw shall apply only to watercourses that flow into the river and are not within an Internal Drainage District, and provided also that where a hedge is growing on the bank of a watercourse nothing in Byelaws 16 and 17 shall extend to require more than the pruning of the hedge so as to prevent it from growing over or into the watercourse, and the removal of the resultant cuttings.

18. Interference with structures

No person shall without lawful authority or excuse interfere with any sluice, valve, flood gate, lock, weir, dam, pump, pumping machinery or any structure or appliance for controlling or regulating the flow of water in into or out of the river or for drawing water from or delivering water into the river.

19. Interference with property of the Authority

No person shall interfere, with or damage any bank or drainage work or bridge or building or any other structure or appliance or any access road or any other property belonging to or controlled or maintained by the Authority.

20. Restriction on mooring of vessels to damage banks

No person shall moor or place any vessel or upon the bank of the river in such manner or by such method as to cause injury to such bank or any drainage work.

21. Restriction on mooring of vessels to impede flow

No person shall moor or place any vessel in such manner as to materially obstruct or harmfully impede the free now of water in, into or out of the river.

22. Speed of vessels

No person shall navigate any vessel in such manner or at such a speed as to injure the bank of the river and where the Authority have by notices erected limited the speed of vessels passing bel ween the places at which such notices have been erected no person shall navigate a vessel between such places at a speed greater than the speed so limited.

Provided that the Authority shall not exercise their powers under this Byelaw to limit the speed of vessels on any tidal waters except after consultation with the Secretary of State for Trade or in any part of the Weaver Navigation except after consultation with the British Waterways Board.

23. Unattended vessels

No person shall leave any vessel unattended without taking due care to prevent such vessel from materially obstructing or harmfully impeding the free flow of water in, into or out of the river.

24. Protection of peat banks from fire

No person shall light or cause or permit to be lighted or commit any action liable to cause to be lighted any fire on any land adjoining the river where such action is liable to set fire the peat land forming the banks of the river.

25. Work affecting sea defences

(a) Any person who is responsible for the maintenance in proper repair of any building or structure on the sea defences shall, on receipt of a notice from the Authority that the building or structure is causing or is likely to cause by reason of its disrepair, damage to the sea defences, carry out to the satisfaction of the Authority such reasonable and practicable repairs or other works as may be specified in the notice and are necessary for the purpose of preventing such damage to the sea defences;

Provided that Byelaw 32(a) shall not apply to a notice to be given or served by the Authority under this Byelaw;

(b) The occupier of any land upon which sea defences are situated or which abuts on sea defences shall, if required to do so by an officer of the Authority, secure that, during the progress of any work carried out by the Authority on such sea defences, bulls, horses, dogs or dangerous animals are not kept on that land or, if kept thereon, are kept under proper control and supervision;

(d) No person shall anchor, moor or place any vessel to or upon any sea defences in such manner or by such method as to cause injury to such sea defences.

26. Defacing of notices

No person shall deface or remove any notice board or notice or placard put up by the Authority.

27. Obstruction of officers

No person shall obstruct or interfere with any officer or agent or servant of the Authority exercising any of his duties under the Act or these Byelaws.

28. Unauthorised entry onto land

No unauthorised person shall enter upon any land belonging to or in the occupation of the Authority, if such entry is likely to endanger any person or property and there is displayed on or near the land a notice prohibiting entry

29. Savings for statutory undertakers etc

Nothing in these Byelaws shall:-

a) interfere with the operation of any Byelaw made by a Navigation, Harbour, Pilotage, or Conservancy Authority or any or their Regulations or Directions made pursuant to statute, but no person shall be liable to more than one penalty, or in the case of a continuing offence, more than one daily penalty in respect or the same offence;

b) restrict, prevent or interfere with or prejudice the due and proper exercise of any statutory rights or powers which are now or hereafter may be vested in or exercised by:-

(i) any public utility undertaking carried on by a Local Authority under any Act or under any Order having the force of an Act:

(ii) any statutory water undertakers as defined in Section 11(6) of the Water Act, 1973:

(iii) the Central Electricity Generating Board or any Area Electricity Board established under the Electricity Acts, 1947 and 1957;

(iv) the British Gas Corporation under the provisions of the Gas Act, 1972;

(v) any Navigation, Harbour, Pilotage, or Conservancy Authority;

(vi) the British Railways Board or any Regional Railways Board established under the Transport Act, 1962, with respect to the construction, use, or maintenance of any railway bridge or any other work connected with their railways, or so as to interfere with the traffic thereon;

(vii) any local authority or any highway authority for the purposes of the Highways Act 1959 (as amended by any subsequent enactment) in relation to any highway whether or not maintainable at public expense;

(viii) the Post Office;

(ix) the British Airports Authority;

(x) the Civil Aviation Authority.

(c) restrict, prevent interfere with or prejudice the right of a highway authority to introduce into any watercourse surface water from a highway, for which it is the highway authority.

(d) affect any liability arising otherwise than under and by reason thereof.

32. Compliance with directions

(a) Where by under these Byelaws (except Byelaws 5 and 25(a)) any person is required by a notice in writing given by the Authority to do any work to the satisfaction of the Authority or to comply with any directions of the Authority, he may within 21 days after the service of such notice on him give to the Authority a counter-notice in writing objecting to. either the reasonableness of or the necessity for such requirement or directions, and in default of agreement between such person and the Authority the dispute shall, when the person upon whom such notice was served is a drainage authority or local authority be referred to the Minister whose decision shall be final, and in any other case shall be referred to the arbitration of a single arbitrator to be appointed in default of agreement by the President of the Institution of Civil Engineers on the application of either party. Where such a counter-notice has been given to the Authority the operation of the notice shall be suspended until either agreement has been reached or the dispute has been determined by arbitration in accordance with the provisions of this Byelaw.

(b) Whereby or under these Byelaws any person is required by a notice in writing given by the Authority to do any work to the satisfaction of the Authority or to comply with any directions of the Authority and any dispute subsequently arises as to whether such work has been executed or such directions have been complied with, such dispute if it arises between a drainage authority or local authority and the Authority shall be referred to the Minister whose decision shall be final, and in any other case shall be referred to the arbitration of a single arbitrator to be appointed in default of agreement by the President of the Institution of Civil Engineers on the application of either party.

33. Savings for the Crown

Nothing in these Byelaws shall operate to prevent the removal of any substance on, in or under (or the erection of any structure, building or machinery, or any cable, wire, or pipe, on, over, or under) lands belonging to Her Majesty in the right of Her Crown by any person thereunto authorised by the Crown Estate Commissioners or in right of Her Duchy of Lancaster by any person thereunto authorised by the Chancellor of the said Duchy.

34. Interpretation

In these Byelaws unless the context otherwise requires the terms used shall have the same meanings as are assigned to them in the Land Drainage Act, 1976, and the following words and expressions shall have the meanings hereby respectively assigned to them, that is to say:-

“The Act” means the Land Drainage Act, 1976;

“Animal” includes any horse, ass, mule, cattle, sheep, goats, swine, goose, poultry;

“Authority” means the North West Water Authority;

“Bank” means any bank piling wall or embankment adjoining or confining or constructed for the purpose of or in connection with the river (including any crosswall or counterwall connected to a bank) and includes all land between the bank and low water mark or the level of the water in the river as the case may be;

“Drainage Authority” in Byelaw 32 means an internal drainage board;

“Flash” means an area affected by subsidence due to brine pumping or mining operations;

“Local Authority” means the Council of any County or District;

“Main River” has the meaning assigned to it by Section 8(3) of the Land Drainage Act, 1976.

“The Minister” means the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food;

“Occupier” means in the case of land not occupied by any tenant or other person the person entitled to the occupation thereof;

“Owner” includes the persons defined as such in the Public Health Act, 1936;

“Person” includes a body corporate;

“Pilotage Authority” means any Authority established pursuant10 Section 7 of the Pilotage Act, 1913;

“Railway” means a railway constructed under the powers of any Act of Parliament and intended for the conveyance of passengers or goods;

“Sea Defences” includes sandhills, banks, walls and other defences whether natural or artificial against sea water or tidal water; provided that this definition shall not include any sea defence works (including dock walls) which are maintained by a Coast Protection Authority under the provisions of the Coast Protection Act, 1949, or by any Local Authority or by any Navigation, Harbour, Pilotage or Conservancy Authority;

“Water Authority Area” means the area for which the Authority is for the time being established by virtue of Schedule 1 of the Water Act, 1973;

“Vessel” includes any ship, lighter, keel, barge, tug, launch, house-boar, pleasure or other boat, aircraft, hovercraft, randan, wherry, skiff, dinghy, shallop, coracle, punt, canoe, yacht, raft, float of timber, or any other craft whatsoever whether worked, navigated or propelled by steam, petrol, oil or otherwise.

35. Notices under these byelaws

Notices required or authorised to be given or served under these Byelaws may be served in the manner in which documents may be given or served under Section 108 of the Land Drainage Act, 1976.

36. Application of Interpretation Act 1889

The Interpretation Act, 1889, applies to the interpretation of these Byelaws as it applies to the interpretation of an Act of Parliament.

37. Revocation of previous byelaws

All Land Drainage Byelaws made by the former Cumberland, Lancashire and Mersey & Weaver River Authorities are hereby revoked.

38. Restriction on Authority’s powers under Byelaws

Nothing in these Byelaws shall authorise the Authority to require any person to do any act the doing of which is not necessary for securing the efficient working of the drainage system of the Water Authority Area, or to refrain from doing any act the doing of which does not adversely affect the efficient working of the drainage system· of the Water Authority Area.

39. Citation

These Byelaws may be cited as the North West Water Authority Land Drainage Byelaws, 1979

Notes

By Section 34(4) of the Land Drainage Act, 1976 every person who acts in contravention of or fails to comply with any of the foregoing Byelaws shall be liable on summary conviction in respect of each offence to a fine not exceeding £2000 and a further fine not exceeding £40 for every day on which the contravention or failure is continued after conviction.

By Section 34(5) of the Land Drainage Act, 1976 if any person acts in contravention of, or fails to comply with, any of these Byelaws the Authority may, without prejudice to any proceedings under sub-section (4) of the Section, take such action as may be necessary to remedy the effect of the contravention or failure, and may recover the expenses reasonably incurred by them in doing so from the person in default.