Land Drainage Act 1930
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | 1930 c. 44 |
| Year | 1930 |
Land Drainage Act, 1930
(20 & 21 Geo. 5.) CHAPTER 44.
An Act to amend and consolidate the enactments relating to the drainage of land, and for purposes in connection with such amendment.
[1st August 1930]
B E it enacted by the King's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
Part I.
Drainage Authorities .
1 Drainage districts and drainage boards.
(1) For the purpose of the drainage of land there shall be such drainage districts as are mentioned in this section and there shall be a drainage board for each such drainage district.
(2) The drainage board of a drainage district shall be a body corporate with power to hold land without licence in mortmain.
(3) Subject to the provisions of this Act, a drainage board shall exercise a general supervision over all matters relating to the drainage of land within its district and shall have such other powers and perform such other duties as are conferred or imposed on drainage boards by this Act.
(4) The said drainage districts shall consist of the catchment areas constituted by or under this Act and such other drainage districts (whether within or outside catchment areas) as may be so constituted, and subject to and without prejudice to the provisions of this Act, any drainage districts or drainage areas constituted under the Land Drainage Act, 1861 , or under that Act as amended by any subsequent enactment, or under any other enactments relating to the drainage of land, shall be deemed for the purposes of this Act to have been constituted under this Act, and the drainage boards or drainage authorities of all such last mentioned districts or areas shall be treated for those purposes as if they had been constituted under this Act as the drainage boards of those districts or areas.
(5) The districts (other than catchment areas) to be constituted as drainage districts under this Act shall be such areas as will derive benefit or avoid danger as a result of drainage operations.
Part II.
Powers of Catchment Boards.Catchment Areas and Constitution and
2 Catchment areas.
(1) The areas specified in Part I of the First Schedule to this Act shall be catchment areas for the purposes of this Part of this Act.
(2) The Minister may at any time, either on the application of or after consultation with the councils of the counties and county boroughs concerned, by order under this Part of this Act direct that any areas which are not for the time being included in the said First Schedule shall be added to the said Schedule, or that any area for the time being included in the said Schedule shall be removed therefrom, or that such alterations, whether by the combination or re-grouping of catchment areas or otherwise, as the Minister may think fit, shall be made in the said Schedule, and in particular, where the natural direction of the drainage of any land has been artificially altered, an order under this subsection may be made specifying the catchment area, if any, to which the land in question is to belong.
(3) An order under this section, if opposed, shall be provisional only and shall not have effect until confirmed by Parliament.
(4) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, the expression ‘the river’ in relation to a catchment area means the river to which the drainage of the area is directed, and the expression ‘river’ includes an arterial drain.
3 Constitution of Catchment Boards and appointment of members.
(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, the drainage board of a catchment area (in this Act referred to as ‘the Catchment Board’) shall be constituted by order made by the Minister under this Part of this Act and shall consist of such number of members, not being more than thirty-one, as the Minister may determine.
(2) The members of a Catchment Board shall be appointed as follows—
(a ) one member shall be appointed by the Minister:
(b ) such number, not being less than two-thirds of the remaining members, as the Minister may determine shall be appointed, whether from their own members or not, by the councils of the counties and of the county boroughs whose area, or any part of whose area, is situate within the catchment area:
(c ) the residue of the members to be appointed shall be persons appointed by the Minister, after consultation with, and after taking into consideration nominations by, the internal drainage boards whose districts are within the catchment area, to represent those boards and that portion, if any, of the catchment area for which drainage boards might be, but have not been, constituted under this Act.
The councils of counties and county boroughs and the Minister in making appointments under this subsection shall have regard to the desirability of including, as far as practicable, among the members appointed by them persons having a practical knowledge of land drainage, and the councils of counties in making such appointments shall secure that adequate representation is given to the urban districts within the catchment area, having regard to the relative rateable values of the urban and rural districts therein.
(3) As respects the members of a Catchment Board to be appointed by councils of counties and of county boroughs, the number to be appointed severally by each of the said councils shall be such as the Minister may determine, having regard to the estimated amounts of the contributions to be made by those councils respectively towards the expenses of the Board:
Provided that—
(a ) the number of the members of a Catchment Board to be appointed by the councils of county boroughs shall not in any case exceed one half of the aggregate number of the members to be appointed by the councils of counties and county boroughs; and
(b ) pending the estimation of the said amounts, the Minister may make a provisional determination of the number of the members of the Catchment Board to be appointed severally as aforesaid.
(4) The provisions set out in Part II of the First Schedule to this Act shall have effect with respect to the members and proceedings of Catchment Boards.
(5) The Minister shall as soon as may be after the passing of this Act take such steps as are necessary for constituting in accordance with the provisions of this section Catchment Boards for the catchment areas specified in Part I of the First Schedule to this Act.
4 Schemes for transfer of powers and duties to Catchment Boards and reorganisation of internal drainage boards.
(1) Every Catchment Board—
(a ) shall as soon as may be after it has been constituted prepare and not later than such date as may be appointed by the Minister for the purposes of this provision, either generally or in relation to a particular Catchment Board, submit to him for confirmation a scheme making provision—
(ii) for any matters supplemental to or consequential on the transfer aforesaid; and
(b ) shall within a further period expiring on such later date as may be appointed by the Minister for the purposes of this provision, either generally or in relation to a particular Catchment Board, prepare and submit to him for confirmation a further scheme or further schemes making provision for the following matters:—
(i) the alteration of the boundaries of any internal drainage district:
(ii) the amalgamation of the whole or any part of any internal drainage district with any other such district:
(iii) the abolition as from such date as may be specified in the scheme of all Commissioners of Sewers exercising jurisdiction within the catchment area or, in the case of Commissioners of Sewers who exercise jurisdiction partly within and partly without the catchment area, the abrogation of the powers of those Commissioners within the catchment area:
(iv) the abolition or reconstitution of any internal drainage district and of the drainage board thereof:
(v) the constitution of new internal drainage districts within the catchment area:
(vi) the constitution of drainage boards for all or any of the separate drainage districts constituted by the scheme:
(viii) the making of alterations in, and the addition of supplemental provisions to, the provisions of any local Act or of any award made under any such Act, where such alterations or supplemental provisions are necessary or expedient for enabling the area for the benefit of which drainage works are authorised by the local Act or award to be drained effectually:
(ix) any matters supplemental to or consequential on the matters aforesaid for which it appears necessary or desirable to make provision, including the transfer to new drainage boards of any property, rights, powers, duties, obligations and liabilities...
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