Council byelaws
The Land Drainage Act 1991 allows drainage authorities to set byelaws. Our byelaws specify that if your proposal for works is within 7 metres of an ordinary watercourse then consent for the proposal may be required from us.
Please contact our Drainage Team by emailing drainage@peterborough.gov.uk for further information about gaining consent. There is no charge for this kind of consent / application.
Land drainage consent
Culverting or works affecting the flow of an ordinary watercourse requires our prior written consent under the terms of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010, Land Drainage Act 1991 and Water Resources Act 1991.
An ordinary watercourse is defined as not being a main river, and can include streams, ditches and drains (other than those belonging to Anglian Water).
Works that require land drainage consent are works which are temporary or permanent likely to cause an obstruction to the flow or restrict capacity of the watercourse (such as culverts, bridges, heads walls etc.)
We would encourage you to email drainage@peterborough.gov.uk to clarify whether the works that you wish to carry out do need ordinary watercourse land drainage consent.
Please note that some ordinary watercourses in Peterborough are under Internal Drainage Board management, consent for works or within a certain distance of a watercourse within their control should be sought from the Drainage Board instead of us.
The map below will show you whether or not you are within an area managed by an Internal Drainage Board. Contact details for the Internal Drainage Boards can be found online on the Association of Drainage Authorities website.
Consent for works on ‘main rivers’ is the responsibility of the Environment Agency.
Please note, there is a charge of £50 per structure/application under the Land Drainage Act.
Apply for land drainage consent
To complete the online application form and view information about what else you need to submit, please either visit our Consent for Works Affecting Watercourses page or click the button below.
Internal Drainage Board consent
Ordinary watercourses under Internal Drainage Board management (land drainage consent), consent for works or within a certain distance of a watercourse should be sought from the Drainage Board instead of us.
The map below will show you whether or not you are within an area managed by an Internal Drainage Board. Contact details for the Internal Drainage Boards can be found online on the Association of Drainage Authorities website.
Environment Agency consent
Main rivers under Environment Agency management (flood defence consent) must be sought if you wish to carry out works affecting or near to a 'main river' you will need to contact your local Environment Agency office to find out about their consenting process.
A map of main rivers is available to download below. You can call the Environment Agency on 03708 506 506 to find out more.