Part IV FLOOD DEFENCE
Main river functions
109 Structures in, over or under a main river.
(1)
No person shall erect any structure in, over or under a watercourse which is part of a main river except with the consent of and in accordance with plans and sections approved by the F1appropriate agency.
(2)
No person shall, without the consent of the F1appropriate agency, carry out any work of alteration or repair on any structure in, over or under a watercourse which is part of a main river if the work is likely to affect the flow of water in the watercourse or to impede any drainage work.
(3)
No person shall erect or alter any structure designed to contain or divert the floodwaters of any part of a main river except with the consent of and in accordance with plans and sections approved by the F1appropriate agency.
(4)
If any person carries out any work in contravention of this section the F1appropriate agency may—
(a)
remove, alter, or pull down the work; and
(b)
recover from that person the expenses incurred in doing so.
(5)
Subsections (1) and (2) above shall not apply to any work carried out in an emergency; but a person carrying out any work excepted from those subsections by this subsection shall inform the F1appropriate agency in writing as soon as practicable—
(a)
of the carrying out of the work; and
(b)
of the circumstances in which it was carried out.
(6)
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.
F2(7)
Subsections (1) to (3) above shall not apply to any work if—
(a)
carrying out the work is a licensable marine activity,
(b)
the F1appropriate agency considers that, in view of the terms and conditions that will be included in the marine licence, the provisions of those subsections may be dispensed with, and
(c)
the F1appropriate agency issues a notice to that effect to the applicant for the marine licence.
(8)
In subsection (7) above “licensable marine activity” and “marine licence” have the same meaning as in Part 4 of the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009.