Water course consents

From the 6^th of April 2012 the Environment Agency Wales transferred its powers for flood defence consenting of ordinary water courses to Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council who became the Lead Local Flood Authority (LLFA) for the whole of the borough covered by this Authority.

Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council is now responsible for all consenting and enforcement on ordinary water courses in accordance with the Land Drainage Act 1991 and the Flood Water Management Act 2010.  Coast and Main rivers are still the responsibility of the Environment Agency Wales.

To ensure that all works proposed in a watercourse are checked a flood defence consent is required before any work commence. This is to ensure they do not negatively impact the natural environment through flooding, pollution, loss of habitats or damage to wildlife.

There are two types of consent that might be required and prior to undertaking any works you will need to apply for one or both of the following consents from Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council.

Permanent Consent – for the construction of permanent structures such as bridges, culverts, weirs or any other objects which will interfere with or change the flow of water in a water course both in normal or flood conditions.

Temporary – this is from works that are temporary in nature such as sand bags or cofferdams used to create a dry working area, or any objects or materials that will be removed at a later date.

Pre-application discussions are encouraged to avoid delays in applications being made invalid due to lack of incorrect information being submitted.

Once an application is made valid it will take two months to process so ensure that enough time has been scheduled to allow for this.

A flood defence consent does not means that other consents are required from the Environment Agency and/or Countryside Council for Wales before you undertake any works. Consent would also be required by any land owner likely to be affected by your works.

The following map details the borough split into three separate areas with the subsequent contact details for each of those areas if you are intending to undertake any works in a watercourse.

Team Areas

Contact us

• Green – West Team
• Blue – East Team