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Section 179: Protective provisions in respect of flood defence works and watercourses etc.

Water Resources Act 1991 · 1991 c. 57View on legislation.gov.uk

Part VII: Land and Works Powers — chapter III: PROVISIONS SUPPLEMENTAL TO LAND AND WORK POWERS

Nothing in this Act shall confer power on any person to do anything, except with the consent of the person who so uses them, which interferes—

with any sluices, floodgates, groynes, sea defences or other works used by any person for draining, preserving or improving any land under any local statutory provision; or
with any such works used by any person for irrigating any land.

Where the appropriate agency proposes, otherwise than in exercise of any compulsory powers—

to construct or alter any such inland waters in any internal drainage district as do not form part of a main river; or
to construct or alter any works on or in any such inland waters,

the appropriate agency shall consult the internal drainage board for that district before doing so.

A consent for the purposes of subsection (1) above may be given subject to reasonable conditions but shall not be unreasonably withheld.

Any dispute—

as to whether anything done or proposed to be done interferes or will interfere as mentioned in subsection (1) above;
as to whether any consent for the purposes of this section is being unreasonably withheld; or
as to whether any condition subject to which any such consent has been given was reasonable,

shall be referred to the arbitration of a single arbitrator to be appointed by agreement between the parties or, in default of agreement, by the President of the Institution of Civil Engineers.

The provisions of this section shall be without prejudice to the provisions of Schedule 22 to this Act.

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This legislation text comes from legislation.gov.uk. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. These source and reuse terms cover the legislation text, not Remedy's commentary.

Reuse reviewed 21 August 2026 under Open Government Licence v3.0.