Statutory guidance

Northumbrian region flood defence and land drainage byelaws

Published 28 September 2022

The former Northumbrian Water Authority established these byelaws in 1980. 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 They have not been legally repealed but, due to other legislation, are not used any more.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: Northumbrian region

These byelaws cover the north-east coast from Berwick-upon-Tweed in the north to Redcar in the south, and inland to the Pennines, including Barnard Castle, Haltwhistle and Kielder Water.

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 East and Northumbria & Yorkshire Regions of the Environment Agency. These byelaws are now enforced by the Environment Agency: all references to Northumbrian Water Authority, Water Authority or Authority, should now read Environment Agency.

Northumbrian Water Authority

Land Drainage Act, 1976 Byelaws

The Northumbrian Water Authority under and by virtue of the powers and authority vested in them by Section 34 of the Land Drainage Act, 1976, hereby make the following Byelaws which they consider necessary for securing the efficient working of the drainage system in their area:-

1. Title and date of commencement

These Byelaws may be cited as “The Northumbrian Water Authority Land Drainage Byelaws 1980” and shall come into operation at the expiration of one month beginning with the day on which they are confirmed by the Minister.

2. Application of Byelaws

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”).

3. 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, namely:-

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

“animal” includes any horse, ass, mule, cattle, sheep, goat, swine, goose or poultry;

“the Authority” means the Northumbrian Water Authority;

“the bank” means any bank, wall or embankment adjoining or confining or constructed for the purpose of or in connection with the river, sea front or any watercourse to which these Byelaws apply and includes all land between the bank and mean low water mark of ordinary tides or the level of the water in the river or any watercourse to which these Byelaws apply (taken as normal summer water level) as the case may be and where there is no such bank, wall or embankment includes the brink of the river or watercourse as the case may be;

“land” includes water and any interest in land or water and any easement or right in. to or over land or water;

“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;

“Main River Map” has the meaning assigned to it by Section 9 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;

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

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

“vessel” means any ship, boat or craft whatsoever, however worked, navigated or propelled and whether or not used or intended for the conveyance, carriage, housing or storage of persons or goods, and includes also any raft, float of timber or other float;

“watercourse” includes all rivers and streams and all ditches, drains, cuts, culverts, dikes, sluices, sewers (other than public sewers within the meaning of the Public Health Act 1936) and passages, through which water flows.

4. Control of valves, sluices, weirs, etc.

Any person having control of any valve sluice flood-gate lock weir dam structure or appliance by which the flow of water in or into or out of the river or the drawing of water from or delivering of water into the river is controlled or regulated shall:-

(a) Maintain such valve sluice flood-gate lock weir dam structure or appliance in a proper state of repair and efficiency to the satisfaction of the Authority:

(b) use such valve sluice flood-gate lock weir dam 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 of shortage in the flow or supply of water and to the efficient working of the drainage system of the Water Authority area.

5. Interference with valves, sluices, weirs, etc.

No person shall, without lawful authority or excuse, interfere with any valve sluice flood-gale lock weir dam structure or appliance by which the flow in or into or out of the river or the drawing of water from or delivering of water into the river is controlled or regulated

7. Discharge of solid and other matter

No person shall discharge or put or cause or permit to be discharged or put into the river or negligently or wilfully cause or permit to fall into the river any tree trunk or branch of a tree or any timber, wrack, debris, gravel, stones, earth, ashes, refuse or vegetable growths or any other matter whatsoever, whether solid or liquid, so as directly or indirectly to obstruct or impede the flow of water in into or out of the river.

8. Mooring of vessels

No person shall anchor, moor or leave any vessel in the river or to or against the bank in such manner as materially to obstruct or impede or harmfully divert the flow of water in or into or out of the river or to damage the bank or any drainage work.

9. 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, permit that vessel to remain in the river in such a manner as to impede or harmfully divert the flow of water in into or out of the river.

10. Cutting of vegetation on non-main river tributaries

The occupier of land through which a watercourse flows or of land abutting on any watercourse or the person having control of any such watercourse shall upon being required by a notice in writing from the Authority within such reasonable time as may be therein specified cut down such trees, willows, shrubs, weeds, grasses, reeds, rushes or other vegetable growths growing in or on the bank of the watercourse as may be specified by such notice and when cut shall remove the same. Provided that this Byelaw shall apply only to such watercourses that flow into the river.

14. Grazing on banks

Any person using the bank or any drainage work or causing or permitting the same to be used for the purpose of grazing or keeping any animal thereon shall take such steps as are necessary and reasonably practicable to prevent the bank or drainage work from being damaged by such use: Provided that nothing in this Byelaw shall affect or prevent the use of any cattle drinking place which is in existence at the date when these Byelaws come into operation or which may thereinafter be made with the approval of the Authority.

15. Vehicles on banks

No person shall use or drive or cause or permit to be used or driven a vehicle of any description whatsoever on over or along the bank or any drainage work in such manner as to damage such bank or drainage work.

16. Deposit of goods or materials on banks

No person shall use the bank or any drainage work or cause or permit the same to be used for depositing, stacking, storing or keeping thereon any goods, refuse, material or things whatsoever so as by reason of the weight, volume or nature of such goods, refuse, material or things to cause damage to the bank or drainage work or endanger the stability thereof or interfere with the right of the Authority to deposit spoil on the bank.

17. Damage to banks

No person shall:-

(a) cut, pare or remove or cause or permit to be cut, pared or removed any turf forming part of the bank or of any drainage work;

(b) dig for or remove or cause or permit to be dug for or removed any stones, gravel, sand, ballast, clay, earth, timber or other material whatsoever forming part of the bank or of any drainage work;

(c) make or cause or permit to be made any excavation or do or cause or permit to be done anything in or upon land adjoining the bank or any drainage work of such a nature as to damage the bank or drainage work or endanger the stability thereof.

18. Control of vermin in banks

The occupier of any bank or any part thereof shall, upon being required by the Authority by notice in writing, within such reasonable time as may therein be specified, take such steps as are specified in the notice, being such steps as the Authority consider necessary and practicable, for preventing the bank from becoming infested by rabbits, musk rats, mink, moles and other vermin in or on the bank. Provided however that in taking such steps as aforesaid he shall not do or cause or permit to be done anything of such a nature as to cause damage to or endanger the stability of the bank.

19. Refuse, etc., likely to fall into the river

No person shall place any such object matter or thing as is referred to in Byelaw 7 in proximity to the river in such manner as to render the same liable to drift or be carried into the river in time of flood.

21. Trespass on Authority’s land

No person shall without lawful authority enter upon 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.

22. Damage to Authority’s property

No person shall damage or interfere with any bank bridge building structure appliance or other property whatsoever of the Authority.

23. Defacement of notice boards

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

24. Obstruction of Authority’s officers

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

28. Determination of disputes

(2) Where by these Byelaws a person is required to do any work to the satisfaction of the Authority or to comply with any direction of the Authority he may within 21 days after the service of 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 any dispute arising as to whether such work has been satisfactorily executed or such direction complied with the same shall be referred for determination in manner hereinafter described. 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 in manner hereinafter described.

(3) Any dispute as aforesaid to which the parties are the Authority and a drainage authority or local authority shall be referred to the Minister whose decision shall be final and any other dispute as aforesaid 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.

29. Consents, notices, etc.

Any notice or other document required or authorised to be given or served under these Byelaws shall be sufficiently given or served if given in writing under the hand of the Chief Executive of the Authority or other duly authorised officer of the Authority and served in the manner provided in Section 108 of the Act.

30. Restriction on Authority’s powers under Byelaws

Nothing in these Byelaws shall:-

(a) 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 would not adversely affect the securing of such work.

(b) prejudice or affect the provisions of Section 22 of the Water Act 1973 (which relates to the Authority’s duties with regard to nature conservation and amenity) or any rights, powers or duties conferred or imposed thereby.

31. Savings

Nothing in these Byelaws shall:-

(a) interfere with the operation of any byelaw made by a navigation, harbour, pilotage or conservancy authority 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 of the same offence;

(b) restrict prevent interfere with or prejudice the 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 of Parliament or Order having the force of an Act of Parliament.

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

(vii) 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;

(viii) the Post Office.

(c) restrict, prevent, interfere with or prejudice any right of a highway authority to introduce into the river surface water from any highway;

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

32. Savings for Crown lands

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

33. Revocation of existing Byelaws

The Land Drainage Byelaws made by the former Northumbrian River Authority on 6th December, 1967 and confirmed by the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food on 13th August 1968 are hereby revoked.

Penalties and recovery of expenses

1. 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 four hundred pounds and a further fine not exceeding forty pounds for every day on which the contravention or failure is continued after conviction.

2. 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 Water Authority may, without prejudice to any proceedings under subsection (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.