If you would like more information about the election process please refer to the Land Drainage Act 1991, or contact the Returning Officer at the Boards office on 01234 767995 or send an email to contact@idbs.org.uk
Have a question? Look through our frequently asked questions for an answer.
Why don’t I get a drainage rate bill for my house?
Only occupiers of Agricultural Land and Buildings (including pony paddocks, private fishing lakes, woodlands etc) pay drainage rates direct to the Board. Rates associated with “Other Land” (such as domestic homes and gardens, businesses, retail outlets, amenities etc) are covered by “Special Levy” paid by Local Councils who in turn recover the majority of this charge from Central Government.
IDB levies have been collected through the local district or unitary authorities since the 1970s through rates (now council tax) to improve the efficiency of administration, having previously been paid directly by landowners and occupants living within an Internal Drainage District.
To make the process even more efficient, it was decided to collect the property as an average charge with the rates (council tax), so property owners only made one payment to the local authority. The local authorities pay the sum of individual property levies collected to the IDB as a single payment known as the Special Levy¹.
Today payment now forms part of the council tax across the local authority area rather than just the properties within the Internal Drainage District
Extract taken from – https://www.ada.org.uk/2016/10/special-levy-helps-pay-for-essential-water-level-management/
Why am I being charged rates when my land is not used for agriculture?
Agricultural use includes uses such as pony paddocks, private fishing lakes, woodlands etc. To be rated the land does not need to be used as part of an agricultural business. The land use is therefor still registered as agricultural. If you are able to provide written proof that:
- the land use has been changed, or
- that the land was sold to you as a garden free from any agricultural restrictions, or
- that the parcels of land are included in your council tax assessment
We would be able to update our records. If however, you are unable to provide this proof then annual Drainage rates will continue to be payable.
Why are you charging me rates when I have no watercourse on my land.
Rates are charged irrespective of whether you do or do not have watercourses on your land. Rates are charged because your property is in the Bedford Group of Internal Drainage Boards’ District and the Board manages the arterial protection of the District.
Who is responsible for maintaining the watercourses running through my land?
The principal responsibility usually lies with the owner of the land adjoining the watercourse. If a channel is marked as a Bedford Group drain the Board’s Byelaws will apply and the Board will often undertake required works. However, under the Land Drainage Act 1991 the Board is enabled but not required to undertake drainage works.
When are my drainage rates due for payment?
Immediately on receipt.
What method of payments are there?
At present, we accept cash, cheque, card payments and bank transfer. Our account details can be found on your rate demand letter.
What are drainage rates?
All properties within a Drainage District are deemed to derive benefit from the activities of an IDB. Every property is therefore subject to a Drainage Rate paid annually to the Board.
For the purposes of rating, properties are divided into a) Agricultural Land and Buildings (including pony paddocks, private fishing lakes, woodlands etc) and b) Other Land (such as domestic homes and gardens, businesses, retail outlets, amenities etc). Only occupiers of category a) property pay drainage rates direct to the Board. Rates associated with “Other Land” are covered by “Special Levy” paid by Local Councils who in turn recover the majority of this charge from Central Government.
The calculation of the rates is based on the assessment of the “Annual Value” of a parcel of land or agricultural building. The Annual value is an amount equal to the yearly rent that might reasonably have been expected if the property had been let on a yearly tenancy on 1 April 1988.
Each year the Board sets a rate “in the £” to meet its estimated expenditure. This is multiplied by the Annual Value to produce the amount of Drainage Rate due on each Assessment. A breakdown of the rate in the £ is shown on the reverse of the Demand Note to show how money is apportioned.
Why have I got to pay drainage rates?
As occupiers of agricultural property these rates are payable in areas where special local measures are needed to manage flood risk. Maintenance, improvement or new works to watercourses or structures are managed in the District by the Board and rates are levied to meet expenses.
I am likely to have a problem in paying my rates. By when do I need to advise you of this?
Immediately or as soon as possible after receipt of the drainage rate notice. Please email rating@idbs.org.uk
Why have I been charged a penalty?
Rate demands are sent in April and should be paid immediately. If you have failed to pay a reminder will be sent in July. If you still fail to pay the debt will be taken to the Magistrates Court and court costs will be added to your account.
I sold my land some months ago. Why are you charging me a full year’s rates?
Under Section 49 of The Land Drainage Act 1991 anyone in occupation of land for any part of a financial year (1 April – 31 March) can be required to pay rates for the whole of that year. However, they then have the right to recover a proportionate part of the rates paid from anyone else who has occupied the land during that year. Your solicitor should have attended to this as part of the sale transaction and the Board notified.
I have sold/given up my land. What evidence of this will you need to alter your records?
A formal letter/written confirmation will be required as soon as possible from a suitably qualified professional eg solicitor or surveyor, or evidence of the transaction itself eg sight of Land Certificate or Lease. To enable us to easily identify the land please ensure a plan is included and email rating@idbs.org.uk
What are invasive species?
An invasive species is a species that is not native to a specific location (an introduced species), and that has a tendency to spread to a degree believed to cause damage to the environment, human economy or human health.
Are invasive species a problem in the Bedford Group of Internal Drainage Boards’ area?
Yes, we do have a few sites that we are aware of and try to prevent their spread.
Which species are these?
The problems in our area are Floating Pennywort and Japanese Knotweed.
How can I identify these species?
Further information on these species can be found at www.nonnativespecies.org
What should I do if I spot any of these on an watercourse within the IDB district?
Please contact the Environment Agency by email: enquiries@environment-agency.gov.uk or telephone: 03708 506 506
How often are Elections held?
Elections for membership of the Board are held every 3 years, you have the opportunity to shape the work of the Board, either by exercising your vote as a ratepayer or if eligible standing for election yourself.
When is the next Election?
The next election of members will take place for the following Boards in:
- Bedfordshire and River Ivel Board – Autumn 2024
- Buckingham and River Ouzel Board – Autumn 2023
- Alconbury and Ellington Board – Autumn 2023
How many elected places are there?
The Alconbury and Ellington Board has 12 elected members.
The Bedfordshire and River Ivel Board has 12 elected members.
The Buckingham and Ouzel Board has 12 elected members
If we receive more valid nominations than there are places for any electoral division, a poll for the election in those divisions will take place between 24 October 2023 and 1 November 2023. The exact date of the election, should a poll be required, will be published on our Public Notices webpage between 7 and 15 September 2023.
Who are the current representatives?
Please visit our Board Membership web page to identify your existing representative.
How do I stand for election or nominate someone?
To stand for election you will either be an eligible Drainage Ratepayer, or you will be nominated by a landowner who pays Drainage Rates. Full details regarding qualification for membership and nominating candidates are included in the Land Drainage Act 1991, summarised on the nomination paper, which can be obtained from the Drainage Board office. Please note that your nomination paper must be validly completed and returned to us by the published deadline. This date will be published on our Public Notices webpage.
Who gets to vote, should a poll be required?
If the number of candidates exceeds the number of places available, a poll will be held. You will be entitled to vote in every electoral division that you’re liable to pay Drainage Rates in, providing you’ve actually paid your Drainage Rates as demanded and your entitlement is shown in the Register of Electors. This public register will be available for inspection at the Boards office in an election year from April onwards. Notice of this will be given on our Public Notices webpage and you will also have the opportunity to request that any errors or omissions in the Register are corrected before the Election. You will be sent a Voting Paper at least 7 days before the poll, which you’ll need to complete and return to the Boards office before the poll takes place.
When is the result announced/When do we know who’s been elected?
If a poll is required, the count will take place at the Boards office for those electoral divisions being contested on the election date and may be observed by an independent solicitor. Candidates and members of the public are also welcome to observe the count, subject to the usual security checks. The results will then be published on our Public Notices webpage. Where the election of members is not contested a ‘no poll declaration’ will also be published on our Public Notices webpage, shortly after the deadline for receiving nomination papers. The declaration will list the elected members who’ve been returned unopposed. Please note that the Board will not publish election notices in the local press, following receipt of the Ministerial Direction on publishing election notices on 27 April 2016.
What happens if there are fewer candidates nominated than seats available?
If we do not receive at least the same number of valid nominations as there are places for any electoral division, the shortfall will be made up by reappointing the required number from the retiring members for the division, as per Regulation 17 of the Land Drainage (Election of Drainage Boards) Regulations, 1938 (SI 1938 No.558). However, if one or more of the retiring members is unable to be reappointed for any reason whatsoever or the Returning Officer is compelled to re-elect one or more of the retiring members by lot, the Returning Officer will request the Board to fill the vacancies at the earliest opportunity after the Election and consider reconstituting to reduce the number of members, in accordance with its Election of Members Policy.
How do I get more Information?
Who owns the watercourse?
Land ownership can be a complex topic, including whether you own a watercourse. It is sometimes unknown, disputed, or difficult to work out, even when looking at title deeds for a property.
The Bedford Group of Drainage Boards do not own any watercourses. Please use the following link to determine who owns a watercourse. Click Here
A person leasing riparian land will also have riparian responsibilities, unless an agreement to the contrary has been made with the landowner.
Who is responsible for my stretch of watercourse?
Land ownership can be a complex topic, including whether you own a watercourse. It is sometimes unknown, disputed, or difficult to work out, even when looking at title deeds for a property.
The Bedford Group of Drainage Boards do not own any watercourses. Please use the following link to determine who owns a watercourse. Click Here
A person leasing riparian land will also have riparian responsibilities, unless an agreement to the contrary has been made with the landowner. As a riparian owner, you have responsibilities for the stretch of watercourse you own. These responsibilities cover all watercourses and are summarised on pages 11 to 13 of the above document.
Who is responsible for fallen / dangerous trees?
As the Board is not a landowner, it has no responsibility for this.
The landowner of the land from which the tree is growing is responsible for the removal of fallen trees and the felling of dangerous trees / branches.
Are there any other opportunities to be elected?
Occasionally a casual vacancy may arise when an elected member resigns or otherwise vacates their office. When this happens the Board will co-opt a member to fill the vacancy, in accordance with its Election of Members Policy.
What is a watercourse?
A watercourse can be any stream of water flowing in a defined channel or through an underground pipe or culvert. It can be small or wide, natural, or artificial and includes channels that are dry for long periods of time and may not flow every year. A dry channel only filled during temporary flooding is not a watercourse.
Some watercourses in England are designated as ‘main rivers’. These tend to be larger rivers and streams with the highest flood risk, although in some cases they can be small watercourses or drainage channels. The Environment Agency, using its permissive powers, can carry out maintenance, improvement, or construction work on main rivers to manage flood risk and protect the environment. As these powers are permissive only, the Environment Agency is not obliged to carry out either maintenance or new works on main rivers. The Environment Agency also has permitting and enforcement powers for the same purpose.
For all other watercourses, called ‘ordinary watercourses’, similar powers lie with the lead local flood authority, local council, or internal drainage board.
Where can I find an IDB?
IDBs manage drainage districts which occur in areas of special drainage need. The district each IDB covers is therefore determined by the local hydrology and not by political boundaries such as those of counties.
They either occur in broad open areas of lowland such as The Fens, Somerset Levels or Humberhead Levels or within the floodplains of rivers.
IDBs are geographically concentrated in Cambridgeshire, Kent, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Nottinghamshire, Somerset and Yorkshire.
Locate your nearest IDB on the ADA website here.
What are IDBs responsible for?
IDBs’ primary role is to manage water levels and reduce the risk from flooding within their districts. Much of their work involves the maintenance and improvement of watercourses and related infrastructure such as pumping stations, weirs, sluices, culverts and embankments within their drainage districts.
Under the Land Drainage Act 1991, each IDB exercises a general power of supervision over all matters relating to water level management within its district. In pursuance of this role they can prohibit the obstruction of watercourses within their district. Thus, anyone constructing or altering a weir, bridge, embankment, culvert or similar obstruction must first seek the consent of the IDB before undertaking works. IDBs also have a series of bylaws relating to the management of watercourses and can designate features and structures within their district which relate to managing flood risk. A designation prevents the owners from altering, removing or replacing the structure or feature without the consent of the IDB.
IDBs input into the planning system by facilitating the drainage of new and existing developments within their districts, and advising on planning applications, specifically the use of sustainable urban drainage systems (SuDS).
IDBs conduct their work in accordance with a number of general environmental duties and promote the ecological wellbeing of their districts. They have a specific duty to further the conservation and enhancement of all designated environmental sites within their districts such as SSSIs.
Some IDBs may also have other duties, powers and responsibilities under specific legislation. For instance the Middle Level Commissioners and Witham Fourth District IDB are also navigation authorities. During drought IDBs play a key role in keeping water levels higher and facilitating the transfer of water.
Defra is the Government department responsible for IDBs and the work of an IDB is closely linked with that of the Environment Agency and Lead Local Flood Authorities (and Local Authorities over planning issues). IDBs are not, however, responsible for watercourses designated as main rivers within their drainage districts; the supervision of these watercourses is undertaken by the Environment Agency.
How are IDBs funded?
The expenses of an IDB are predominantly funded by the local beneficiaries of the water level management work they provide. Each IDB sets a budget for its planned work in the forthcoming year and any investments it needs to make for future projects. Section 36 of the Land Drainage Act 1991 determines that these expenses of an IDB shall be met by:
• Drainage rates collected from agricultural land and buildings within the Internal Drainage District;
• Special Levies issued on District and Unitary Authorities within the Internal Drainage District;
• Contributions from the Environment Agency (see Higher Land Water Contributions (HLWC) from EA to IDB).
Drainage Rates and Special Levies
All land and properties within a Drainage District are deemed to derive benefit from the activities of an IDB and therefore subject to contributions to the expenses of the IDB paid annually to the Board. For the purposes of rating, properties are divided into
a) Agricultural Land and Buildings (farmhouses, barns, stables, silos etc.)
b) Other Land (such as domestic houses, factories, shops etc).
Occupiers of all “Other Land” pay Council Tax, Business Rates or Local Services Support Rates to the District or Unitary Authority who then are charged a Special Levy by the Board in proportion to the annual value of this “Other Land”.
The Board, therefore, only demands Drainage Rates direct on Agricultural Land and Buildings. The division of the expenses of the IDB raised via drainage rates versus special levy is determined by the total annual value of all agricultural land and buildings in the Internal Drainage District versus the total annual value of all other non-agricultural land and buildings within the Internal Drainage District.
As land moves out of agricultural production and is built on so the appropriate rates and levies are adjusted proportionately. The IDB can be informed of such changes either directly by the land occupier/owner or by the respective Council’s District valuer.
Note: Differential Rates | Section 38 of the Land Drainage Act 1991 enables the division of Internal Drainage Districts for the purposes of setting different drainage rates and special levies in each sub-district. In principle, Differential Rates are only used to reflect differential levels of service from an IDB. This may occur where a part of the District is pumped and another part drains under gravity, or where some parts of the District receive a reduced or enhanced level of benefit from IDB activity (e.g. significantly higher land within the District, or coastal land within the District). For more information, seek the Association of Drainage Authorities’ briefing paper for IDBs on Differential Rating Orders at www.ada.org.uk.
Higher Land Water Contribution (HLWC) from EA to IDB
Higher land water contributions (also known as highland/higher level water contributions) are enabled under Section 57 of the Land Drainage Act 1991. An IDB may make an application to the Environment Agency for a contribution in relation to the quantity of water which that district receives from lands at a higher level outside of the Board’s district.
It provides funding to contribute to additional water management pressures and therefore additional pumping/maintenance required to manage water from higher in a catchment entering an IDB’s Drainage District. Applications for HLWC are made on an annual basis, and their payment are at the discretion of the Environment Agency.
Additional funding
IDBs can also secure grants to assist with the funding of capital and environmental works projects via Flood Defence Grant in Aid (FDGiA) from Defra, the lottery funding agencies and the European Union where appropriate. In May 2011 the Secretary of State for the Environment introduced a new Partnership Funding policy for flood and coastal risk management projects in England which encourages funding to be secured from sources other than FDGiA. Thus the level of FDGiA funding a project receives relates directly to the public benefits it delivers as set out in the Outcomes Measures guidance available on the Environment Agency’s website.
Environment Agency Precept (from IDB to EA)
Section 141 of the Water Resources Act 1991 enables the Environment Agency to issue precepts to IDBs requiring payment of any amount required to be contributed by those Boards towards the expenses of the Environment Agency.
The Precept allows local funds raised by an IDB to finance works essential to the Main River (statutory designated watercourses which are the responsibility of the EA) within, adjacent or flowing from or into an IDB’s Drainage District. In principle the money is raised by the EA from the IDB for the benefit of the respective District or Districts served. The payment of an EA Precept is compulsory, however an IDB may appeal this precept if they feel it unfair, and may request details of how it has been spent by the Agency.
Financial Security
Long-term certainty of finance is essential to sound water level and flood risk management. Water level management is a daily job, requiring regular action, which must be planned well in advance. In contrast, f lood risk mechanisms may only be tested infrequently but must meet the standards demanded of them on these critical occasions. Both activities transcend political and spending periods as currently set out by the Government.
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