1 Overview
Under the Flood and Water Management Act 2010, West Sussex County Council (as the Lead Local Flood Authority (LLFA)) is the consenting authority for proposed structures and obstructions within a watercourse; these require consent under section 23 of the Land Drainage Act 1991.
These structures and obstructions may include dams, weirs, culverts (pipes), or any other structure which affect the flow of water within the channel.
In line with good practice, the council seeks to avoid culverting, and consent for such works will not normally be granted except as a means of access.
What is an ordinary watercourse?
An ordinary watercourse is any river, stream, brook, ditch, drain, culvert, pipe and any other passage through which water may flow which is not designated as Main River. It does not have to be recorded on a map to be an ordinary watercourse and often is not.
You can check whether a watercourse is classified as a Main River with the Environment Agency’s Main River map. If the section of watercourse you want to work on is not on their map, then it is automatically classified as an ordinary watercourse.
Do I need ordinary watercourse consent?
All works (including temporary works) that obstruct water flow within the channel of an ordinary watercourse require consent. This could be a new pipe (culvert), bridge, dam, pond or any other structure in the watercourse, a diversion or a change to the alignment or the banks of the watercourse.
Our guidance notes below contains further details and examples of structures that might require consent.
Even if you have planning permission or other consents you still require consent for works to ordinary watercourses that obstruct the flow.
There are exceptions when consent is not required from WSCC which are:
- if your watercourse is part of a main river then you will need to apply for consent to the Environment Agency
- if your watercourse falls within Arun Internal Drainage District, then you will need to apply to the Internal Drainage Board (IDB) responsible for that area
2 Pre-application service
We offer a pre-application service for ordinary watercourse consent. We provide:
- specific advice on what you need to consider for the proposed works on your site
- advice about the level of detail we need from you in order for us to validate the application
- one virtual meeting to discuss the application and proposal
An initial charge of £200 plus VAT covers review of information, a one-hour virtual meeting and a written response.
An additional charge of £135 plus VAT per hour covers additional work, including any further meetings or site visits. An estimate of cost, based on proposed time, will be provided before any work commences.
Request pre-application advice (external link)3 Apply for consent
When to apply
Consent must be granted before any works are undertaken. We cannot grant consent retrospectively for works that have been completed or are already underway. If works are carried out without consent, then we may require that the watercourse be returned to its original state.
What it costs and how to pay
Each consentable alteration costs £50 and a separate consent is required for each structure or part of the works which obstruct the flow in a channel whether it is permanent or temporary.
Multiple consents can be made for the same location in a single application. Structures in different locations will need separate applications.
If you need to build a temporary structure or diversion for the water to enable you to build the final structure, you will need to apply for consent for both of these, for example, the temporary structure plus the final structure equals two consents which equals £100.
If you are unsure of how many structures your plans will involve or what you need to pay for, please contact us.
Payment can be made by credit or debit card when submitting the application form online.
If you have any issues with payment or completing the form, please email owc@westsussex.gov.uk and we will assist. We regret that we cannot accept payment by card over the phone.
How to apply
You will need to include several supporting documents with your application. Information about what documents you need to include is contained within the form.
If you have any questions about what supporting documents are needed, please contact us.
Request ordinary watercourse consent (external link)How long it takes
The Land Drainage Act 1991 sets a statutory deadline for consent applications. The maximum amount of time we can take to consider your application is two months from the date of receipt of application and payment. If you are not informed of a decision before this deadline, the consent is automatically granted.
Reasons your application could be refused
West Sussex County Council has a presumption against culverting (piping) of ordinary watercourses due to the negative impact on flood risk, ecology and water quality.
In order for approval to be granted, a valid reason for the proposed work must be supplied when an application is made, which demonstrates the appropriate mitigation measures that are being incorporated to ensure that any negative impacts to flood risk, ecology or water quality are fully compensated for. If other alternatives to culverting have been discounted, evidence of this should be provided.
Any works to culvert a watercourse, other than for access, must be accompanied by a detailed water framework assessment, in addition to mitigation for the loss of biodiversity and habitat, reduction in water quality and substantive evidence including hydraulic modelling that demonstrates the works will not increase flood risk elsewhere through the loss of floodplain storage or the increase in water volumes and flow rates through the system.
Sufficient information and rationale must be provided in order for applications to be assessed.
Applications may be refused for a number of reasons, including, but not limited to:
- the works cause an increase in flood risk at the location of the works or elsewhere
- insufficient information submitted to allow an assessment to be made of an application
- adverse impacts on ecology and biodiversity or water quality - linked to the Water Framework Directive
- viable alternatives may exist which cause less impact to the ordinary watercourse (like retaining an open channel over culverting)
If your application is refused, you have the right to appeal our decision under Section 23(5) of the Land Drainage Act 1991. Alternatively, you can make a new alternative application straight away.