ROMNEY MARSHES AREA INTERNAL DRAINAGE BOARD
BYELAWS

INDEX

Preamble

1. Commencement of Byelaws
2. Application of Byelaws
3. Control of Introduction of Water and Increases in Flow or Volume of Water
4. Control of Sluices etc.
5. Fishing Nets and Angling
6. Diversion or Stopping up of Watercourses
7. Detrimental Substances not to be Put into Watercourses
8. Lighting of Fires
9. Notice to Cut Vegetation
10. No Obstructions within Eight Metres of the Edge of the Watercourse
11. Repairs to Buildings
12. Control of Vermin
13. Damage by Animals to Banks
14. Vehicles not to be Driven on Banks
15. Banks not to be Used for Storage
16. Not to Dredge or Raise Gravel, Sand etc
17. Fences, Excavations, Pipes etc
18. Tidal Outfalls
19. Interference with Sluices
20. Mooring of Vessels
21. Unattended Vessels
22. Removal of Sunken Vessels
23. Navigation of Vessels
24. Damage to Property of the Board
25. Defacement of Notice Board
26. Obstruction of Board and Officers
27. Saving for Other Bodies
28. Saving for Crown Land
29. Arbitration
30. Notices
31. Limitation
32. Revocation
33. Interpretation

Common Seal
Penalty Note

ROMNEY MARSHES AREA INTERNAL DRAINAGE BOARD
BYELAWS

The Romney Marshes Area Internal Drainage Board under and by virtue of the powers and authority vested in them by section 66 of the Land Drainage Act 1991, do hereby make the following Byelaws which are considered necessary for securing the efficient working of the drainage system in their District: -

1. Commencement of Byelaws

These Byelaws shall come into operation at the expiration of one month beginning with the day on which they are confirmed by the Secretary of State.

2. Application of Byelaws

(a) These Byelaws shall have effect within the District;

(b) the watercourses referred to in these Byelaws are watercourses which are for the time being vested in or under the control of the Board.

3. Control of Introduction of Water and Increase in Flow or Volume of Water

No person shall as a result of development (within the meaning of Section 55 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 as amended (“the Act”)) (whether or not such development is authorised by the Act or any regulation or order whatsoever or none of them) for any purpose by means of any channel, siphon, pipeline or sluice or by any means whatsoever introduce any water into any watercourse in the District so as to directly or indirectly increase the flow or volume of water in any watercourse in the District (without the previous consent of the Board).

4. Control of Sluices etc

Any person having control of any sluice, water control structure or appliance for introducing water into any watercourse in the District or for controlling or regulating or affecting the flow of water in, into or out of any watercourse shall use and maintain such sluice, water control structure or appliance in accordance with such reasonable directions as may from time to time be given by the Board 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 in the District.

5. Fishing Nets and Angling

No person shall angle or set any nets or engines for the catching or keeping of fish in any watercourse in such manner as to cause damage to or endanger the stability of the bank of the watercourse or to affect or impede the flow of water.

In this Byelaw “nets” includes: -

(a) a stake net, bag net, or keep net;

(b) any net secured by anchors and any net, or other implement for taking fish, fixed to the soil or made stationary in any way;

(c) any net placed or suspended in any inland or tidal waters unattended by the owner or a person duly authorised by the owner to use it for fish, and any engine, device, machine or contrivance, whether floating or otherwise, for placing or suspending such a net or maintaining it in working order or making it stationary.

6. Diversion or Stopping up of Watercourses

No person shall, without the previous consent of the Board, take any action, or knowingly permit or aid or abet any person to take any action to stop up any watercourse or divert or impede or alter the level of or direction of the flow of water in, into or out of any watercourse.

7. Detrimental Substances not to be Put into Watercourses

No person shall, so as directly or indirectly obstruct, impede or interfere with the flow of water in, into or out of any watercourse 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 any watercourse any object or matter of any kind whatsoever whether solid or liquid;

(b) allow any such object or matter as is referred to in sub-paragraph (a) of this Byelaw to remain in proximity to any watercourse in such manner as to render the same liable to drift or fall or be carried into any watercourse.

Provided that nothing in this Byelaw shall be deemed to render unlawful the growing or harvesting of crops in accordance with normal agricultural practice.

8. Lighting of Fires

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 watercourse where such action is liable to set on fire the peat land forming the banks of the watercourse or any vegetation including trees, growing on land forming the banks of the watercourse.

9. Notice to Cut Vegetation

Any person having control of any watercourse shall, upon receipt of a notice served on him by the Board requiring him so to do, cut down and keep cut down all vegetation including trees, growing in or on the bank of a watercourse, within such reasonable time as may be specified in the notice, and shall remove such vegetation including trees, from the watercourse immediately after cutting thereof.

Provided that, where a hedge is growing on the bank of a watercourse, nothing in this Byelaw shall 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.

10. No obstructions within Eight Metres of the Edge of the Watercourse

No person without the previous consent of the Board shall erect any building or structure, whether temporary or permanent, or plant any tree, shrub, willow or other similar growth within 8 metres of the landward toe of the bank where there is an embankment or wall or within 8 metres of the top of the batter where there is no embankment or wall, or where the watercourse is enclosed within 8 metres of the enclosing structure.

11. Repairs to Buildings

The owner of any building or structure in or over a watercourse or on the banks thereof shall, upon receipt of a notice from the Board that because of its state of disrepair –

(a) the building or structure is causing or is in imminent danger of causing an obstruction to the flow of the watercourse, or

(b) the building or structure is causing or is in imminent danger of causing damage to the bank of the watercourse,

carry out such reasonable and practicable works as specified in the notice for the purpose of remedying or preventing the obstruction or damage as the case may be within such reasonable time as is specified in the notice.

12. Control of Vermin

The occupier of any bank of a watercourse or any part thereof shall, upon being required by the Board by notice, within such reasonable time as may therein be specified, take such steps as are specified in the notice, being such steps as the Board consider necessary and practicable for preventing the bank from becoming infested by rabbits, rats, coypu, foxes and moles or any other wild mammal not being an animal listed in Schedule 5 or Schedule 6 to the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, but excluding the water vole from such control.

13. Damage by Animals to Banks

All persons using or causing or permitting to be used any bank of any watercourse for the purpose of grazing or keeping any animal thereon shall take such steps including fencing as are necessary and reasonably practicable and shall comply with such reasonable directions as may from time to time be given by the Board to prevent the bank or the channel of the watercourse from being damaged by such use.

Provided that nothing in this Byelaw shall be deemed to affect or prevent the use of, for the purpose of enabling animals to drink at it, any place made or to be made or constructed as approved by the Board.

14. Vehicles not to be Driven on Banks

No person shall use or drive or permit or cause to be used or driven any cart, vehicle or implement of any kind whatsoever on, over or along any bank of a watercourse in such a manner as to cause damage to such bank.

15. Banks not to be Used for Storage

No person shall use or cause or permit to be used any bank of any watercourse 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, volume or nature of such rubbish, goods, material or things causes or is likely to cause damage to or endanger the stability of the bank or channel of the watercourse or interfere with the operations or access of the Board or the right of the Board to deposit spoil on the bank of the watercourse.

16. Not to Dredge or Raise Gravel, Sand etc

No person shall without the previous consent of the Board dredge or raise or take or cause or permit to be dredged or raised or taken any gravel, sand, ballast, clay or other material from the bed or bank of any watercourse.

17. Fences, Excavations, Pipes etc

No person shall without the previous consent of the Board –

(a) place or affix or cause or permit to be placed or affixed any gas or water main or any pipe or appliance whatsoever or any electrical main or cable or wire in or over any watercourse or in, over or through any bank of any watercourse;

(b) cut, pare, damage or remove or cause or permit to be cut, pared, damaged or removed any turf forming part of any bank of any watercourse, or dig for or remove or cause or permit to be dug for or removed any stone, gravel, clay, earth, timber or other material whatsoever forming part of any bank of any watercourse or do or cause or permit to be done anything in, to or upon such bank or any land adjoining such bank of such a nature as to cause damage to or to endanger the stability of the bank;

(c) make or cut or cause or permit to be made or cut any excavation or any tunnel or any drain, culvert or other passage for water in, into or out of any watercourse or in or through any bank of any watercourse;

(d) erect or construct or cause or permit to be erected or constructed any fence, post, pylon, wall, wharf, jetty, pier, quay, bridge, loading stage, piling, groyne, revetment or any other building or structure whatsoever in, over or across any watercourse or in or on any bank thereof;

(e) place or fix or cause or permit to be placed or fixed any engine or mechanical contrivance whatsoever in, under or over any watercourse or in, over or on any bank of any watercourse in such a manner or for such length of time as to cause damage to the watercourse or banks thereof or obstruct the flow of water in, into or out of such watercourse.

Provided that this Byelaw shall not apply to any temporary work executed in an emergency but a person executing any work so expected shall, as soon as practicable, inform the Board in writing of the execution and of the circumstances in which it was executed and comply with any reasonable directions the Board may give with regard thereto.

18. Tidal Outfalls

No person shall place or cause to be placed or abandon or cause to be abandoned upon the foreshore any trees, roots of trees, branches, timber, tins, bottles, boxes, tyres, bricks, stones, soil, wire, rubbish or other object or matter whatsoever which (whether immediately or as a result of subsequent tidal action) may impede or be likely to impede the flow of water through the sluices or outfall pipes through the tidal banks or through the watercourses on such foreshore or impede or be likely to impede the operation of such sluices or outfall pipes or may cause or be likely to cause damage thereto.

19. Interference with Sluices

No person shall without lawful authority interfere with any sluice, or other water control structure or appliance for controlling or regulating the flow of water in, into or out of a watercourse.

20. Mooring of Vessels

No person shall moor or place any vessel in any watercourse or to or upon the bank of any watercourse in such manner or by such method as to cause or be likely to cause injury to such bank or in such manner as materially to obstruct or impede the free flow of water in, into or out of any watercourse.

21. Unattended Vessels

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

22. Removal of Sunken Vessels

No person who is the owner of a vessel sunk, stranded, damaged or adrift in a watercourse or, in the case of a sunken vessel which is abandoned, who was the owner immediately before the abandonment shall, after ten days from the day on which the Board serves on him notice in writing that the vessel is causing obstruction, permit the vessel to remain in the watercourse in such a manner as to impede or harmfully divert the flow of water in, into or out of the watercourse.

23. Navigation of Vessels

No person shall navigate any vessels in such a manner or at such a speed as to injure the bank of any watercourse and where the Board have by notice erected at any place limited the speed of vessels passing such place no person shall navigate a vessel at a speed over the bed of the watercourse greater than the speed so limited.

Provided that the Board shall not exercise their powers under this Byelaw so as to limit the speed of –

(a) vessels in any tidal waters except after consultation with the Department for Transport, or

(b) vessels navigating waterways of the British Waterways Board for which speed limits are prescribed by the Byelaws of such Board.

24. Damage to Property of the Board

No person shall interfere with or damage any bank, bridge, building, structure, appliance or other property of or under the control of the Board.

25. Defacement of Notice Boards

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

26. Obstruction of the Board and Officers

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

27. Savings for Other Bodies

Nothing in these Byelaws shall –

(a) conflict with or interfere with the operation of any Byelaw made by the Environment Agency or of any navigation, harbour 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 or under any Order having the force of an Act;

(ii) the undertakings of the Environment Agency and of any water undertaker or sewerage undertaker;

(iii) any public gas transporter within the meaning of part I of the Gas Act 1986;

(iv) any navigation, harbour or conservancy authority;

(v) any person who acts as the operator of a relevant railway asset with respect to the construction, use or maintenance and repair of any such asset or the free, uninterrupted and safe use of any such asset and the traffic (including passengers) thereon;

(vi) any local authority;

(vii) any highway authority for the purposes of the Highways Act 1980 (as amended by any subsequent enactment) in relation to any highway whether or not maintainable at public expense;

(viii) any undertaking engaged in the operation of a telecommunications system;

(ix) a relevant airport operator within the meaning of Part V of the Airports Act 1986;

(x) the Civil Aviation Authority and any subsidiary thereof;

(xi) the British Waterways Board;

(xii) the Coal Authority;

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

(d) restrict, prevent, interfere with or prejudice any right of a licence holder within the meaning of Part I of the Electricity Act 1989 to do anything authorised by that licence or anything reasonably necessary for that purpose;

(e) affect any liability arising otherwise than under or by reason of these Byelaws.

28. Saving for Crown Lands

(a) 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 the Crown by any person thereunto authorised by the Crown Estate Commissioners.

(b) Nothing contained in any of the foregoing byelaws should be deemed to be or shall operate as a grant by or on behalf of the Crown as owner of the foreshore below high water mark of any estate or interest in or right over such foreshore, or any part thereof, nor shall anything contained in or done under any of the provisions of the foregoing byelaws in any respect prejudice or injuriously affect the rights and interests of the Crown in such foreshore, or prevent the exercise thereon of any public rights or prejudice or injuriously affect any right, power or privilege legally exercisable by any person in over and in respect of the seashore.

29. Arbitration

(a) Where by or under any of these Byelaws any person is required by a notice in writing given by the Board to do any work to the satisfaction of the Board or to comply with any directions of the Board, he may within 21 days after the service of such notice on him give to the Board 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 Board the dispute shall, when the person upon whom such notice was served is a drainage or local authority be referred to the Secretary of State 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 Board 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) where by or under these Byelaws any person is required by a notice in writing given by the Board to do any work to the satisfaction of the Board or to comply with any directions of the Board 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 Board shall be referred to the Secretary of State whose decision shall be final, and in any other case such dispute 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;

(c) where by or under Byelaws 3, 6, 10, 16 or 17 any person is required to refrain from doing any act without the consent of the Board such consent shall not be unreasonably withheld and may be either unconditional or subject to such reasonable conditions as the Board may consider appropriate and where any dispute arises as to whether in such a case the consent of the Board is being unreasonably withheld, or as to whether any conditions subject to which consent is granted are unreasonable, such dispute shall if it arises between a drainage authority or local authority and the Board be referred to the Secretary of State whose decision shall be final, and in any other case such dispute 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.

30. Notices

Notices and any other documents required or authorised to be served or given under or by virtue of these Byelaws shall be served or given in the manner prescribed by section 71 of the Act.

31. Limitation

(a) Nothing in these Byelaws shall authorise the Board to require any person to do any act, the doing of which is not necessary for the securing the efficient working of the drainage system of the District or refrain from doing any act, the doing of which does not adversely affect the efficient working of the drainage system of the District.

(b) If any conflict arises between these Byelaws and

(i) Sections 61A to E of the Land Drainage Act 1991 (which relates to the Board’s duties with respect to the environment), or
(a)
(ii) the Conservation (Natural Habitats, etc) Regulations 1994

the said Act and the said Regulations shall prevail.

Footnote: (a) SI1994/2716

32. Revocation

The Byelaws made by the Board on the Third day of January 1991 are hereby revoked.

33. Interpretation

In these Byelaws, unless the context otherwise requires, the following expressions shall have the meaning hereby respectively assigned to them, that is to say: -

“the Act” means the Land Drainage Act 1991;

“Animal” includes any horse, cattle, sheep, deer, goat, swine, goose or poultry;

“Bank” includes any bank, cross bank, wall or embankment adjoining or confining or constructed for the purpose of or in connection with any watercourse and includes all land between the bank and the low water mark or level of water in the watercourse as the case may be and where there is no such bank, cross bank, wall or embankment includes the top edge of the batter enclosing the watercourse;

“Board” means the Romney Marshes Area Internal Drainage Board;

“Consent of the Board” means the consent of the Board in writing signed by the Clerk for the time being of the Board or other duly authorised officer;

“District” means the area under the jurisdiction of the Board;

“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 person defined as such in the Public Health Act 1936;

“Relevant Railway Asset” means

(a) a network which was transferred, by virtue of a transfer scheme made under section 85 of the Railways Act 1993, from the British Railways Board and vested in the company formed and registered under the Companies Act 1985 and known, at the date of vesting, as Railtrack PLC,

(b) a station which is operated in connection with the provision of railway services on such a network,

or

(c) a light maintenance depot

Expressions used in this definition and in the Railways Act 1993 have the same meaning in this definition as they have in that Act, and a network such as is described in (a) above shall not cease to be such a network where it is modified by virtue of having any network added to it or removed from it.

“The Secretary of State” means the Secretary of state for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

“Vegetation” means trees, willows, shrubs, weeds, grasses, reeds, rushes or other vegetable growths;

“Vessel” includes any ship, hovercraft (as defined by the Hovercraft Act 1968), lighter, keel, barge, tug, launch, houseboat, pleasure or other boat, aircraft, randan, wherry, skiff, dinghy, shallop, punt, yacht, canoe, raft, float of timber or any other craft whatsoever, and howsoever worked, navigated or propelled;

“Water control structures” means a structure or appliance for introducing water into any watercourse and for controlling or regulating or affecting flow, and includes any sluice, slacker, floodgate, lock, weir, pump or pumping machinery;

and other expressions shall have the same meanings as in the Act.

THE COMMON SEAL OF THE ROMNEY MARSHES AREA INTERNAL DRAINAGE BOARD was hereunto affixed on the Twelfth Day of November 2003 in the presence of:

PENALTY NOTE

By section 66(6) of the Land Drainage Act 1991 every person who acts in contravention of or fails to comply with any of the foregoing Byelaws is liable on summary conviction in respect of each offence to a fine not exceeding the amount prescribed from time to time for level 5 on the standard scale referred to in section 37 of the Criminal Justice Act 1982 and a further fine not exceeding Forty pounds for every day on which the contravention or failure is continued after conviction. By section 66(7) of the Act if any person acts in contravention of or fails to comply with any of these Byelaws the Board may without prejudice to any proceedings under section 66(6) of the Act take such action as may be necessary to remedy the effect of the contravention or failure and may recover the expenses reasonably incurred by it in doing so from the person in default.

ROMNEY MARSHES AREA
INTERNAL DRAINAGE BOARD

LAND DRAINAGE ACT 1991

BYELAWS

Nick Botting
Clerk to the Board

Suite 7, Old Barn Offices
Salts Farm, East Guldeford,
Rye
East Sussex
TN31 7PA