Land Drainage Act 1976

Control of obstructions in and structures in, over or under watercourses

28 Obstructions in watercourses

(1) No person shall in any drainage authority area—

(a) erect any mill dam, weir or other like obstruction to the flow of any watercourse or raise or otherwise alter any such obstruction,

(b) erect any culvert that would be likely to affect the flow of any watercourse or alter any culvert in a manner that would be likely to affect any such flow,

without the consent in writing (not to be unreasonably withheld) of the drainage authority.

(2) If, where an application is made to a drainage authority for their consent under this section, the authority fail within 2 months after the receipt of the application to notify in writing to the applicant their determination with respect to the application, the authority shall be deemed to have consented thereto.

(3) If any question arises under this section whether the consent of a drainage authority is unreasonably withheld, that question shall be referred to a single arbitrator to be agreed between the parties or, failing such agreement, to be appointed by the President of the Institution of Civil Engineers on the application of either party.

(4) If any obstruction is erected or raised or otherwise altered, or any culvert is erected or altered, in contravention of this section, it shall be deemed to be a nuisance liable to be dealt with summarily in manner provided by this section, and the drainage authority may serve upon such person as is specified in subsection (9) below a notice requiring him to abate the nuisance within a time to be specified in the notice.

(5) If that person makes default in complying with the notice, the authority shall cause a complaint relating to the nuisance to be made before a justice, and the justice shall thereupon issue a summons requiring that person to appear before a magistrates' court.

(6) If the court is satisfied that the alleged nuisance exists, the court shall make an order requiring that person to abate the nuisance within a time specified in the order, and may by their order impose a fine not exceeding £400, and shall also give directions as to the payment of all costs incurred up to the time of making the order.

(7) Any person not obeying an order under this section to abate a nuisance shall, if he fails to satisfy the court that he has used all due diligence to carry out such order, be liable to a fine not exceeding £40 for every day during which his default continues, and the authority by whom the complaint was made may abate the nuisance and recover from the person in default the expenses of so doing.

(8) If either party to the proceedings is aggrieved by the decision of a magistrates' court on a complaint under this section, he may appeal to the Crown Court, and on any such appeal the Crown Court shall have power to make any order which the magistrates' court might have made.

(9) The person upon whom a notice may be served under subsection (4) above is—

(a) in a case where the person by whom the obstruction has been erected or raised or otherwise altered has, at the time when the notice is served, power to remove the obstruction, that person ;

(b) in any other case, any person having power to remove the obstruction.

(10) Nothing in this section shall apply to any works under the control of a navigation authority, harbour authority or conservancy authority, or to any works executed under or in pursuance of any Act or any order having the force of an Act.

(11) Nothing in this section shall apply in relation to any watercourse which is part of a main river.

(12) Any reference to a drainage authority in this section shall be construed—

(a) in relation to the main metropolitan watercourses, as a reference to the Greater London Council;

(b) in relation to the metropolitan watercourses, as a reference to that council and the council of the London borough in which the watercourse is situated (or, if it is situated in the City, or in the Inner Temple or the Middle Temple, the Common Council).

29 Structures in, over or under watercourses

(1) No person shall erect any structure in, over or under a watercourse which is part of the main river except with the consent of and in accordance with plans and sections approved by the water authority ; and no person shall, without the consent of the water authority, carry out any work of alteration or repair on any structure in, over or under such a watercourse if the work is likely to affect the flow of water in the watercourse or to impede any drainage work.

(2) No person shall erect or alter any structure designed to contain or divert the floodwaters of any part of the main river except with the consent of and in accordance with plans and sections approved by the water authority.

(3) A consent or approval required under this section shall not be unreasonably withheld ; and—

(a) any such consent may be given subject to any reasonable condition as to the time at which and the manner in which any work is to be carried out; and

(b) any such consent or approval shall, if neither given nor refused within 2 months after application therefor is made, be deemed to have been given.

(4) If any person executes any work in contravention of this section the water authority may remove, alter, or pull down the work and recover from that person the expenses incurred in doing so.

(5) If any question arises under this section whether any consent or approval is unreasonably withheld or whether any condition imposed is reasonable the question shall—

(a) if the parties agree to arbitration, be referred to a single arbitrator agreed between the parties or, in default of agreement, appointed by the President of the Institution of Civil Engineers;

(b) if the parties do not agree to arbitration, be referred to and determined by the Ministers.

(6) Subsection (1) above shall not apply—

(a) to any work executed under section 15 of the [1936 c. 49.] Public Health Act 1936 or section 19 or 20 of Schedule 3 to the [1945 c. 42.] Water Act 1945 (which relate to the provision of sewers and water mains); or

(b) to any work executed in an emergency ;

but a person executing any work excepted by paragraph (b) above shall as soon as practicable inform the water authority in writing of the execution and of the circumstances in which it was executed.

(7) Nothing in this section shall be taken to affect any enactment requiring the consent of any government department for the erection of a bridge or any powers exercisable by any government department in relation to a bridge.

(8) Nothing in subsection (5) of section 112 below shall be taken to exclude the application of this section to any work executed by persons carrying on an undertaking to which that section applies.