NRW cracks down on illegal river works to protect communities in South Wales
Enforcement action undertaken by Natural Resources Wales (NRW) against those that have carried out unpermitted works in and around rivers in South Wales has helped reduce flood risk to people and wildlife living in these areas.
People need to apply for a flood risk activity permit from NRW if they want to work:
- on or near a main river
- on or near a flood defence structure
- on or near a sea defence
- in a flood plain
Since 2021, a specialist team within NRW, with a dedicated enforcement officer, has investigated over 100 cases across South Wales, demonstrating NRW’s commitment to tackling unpermitted activities that could increase flood risk or harm sensitive habitats.
NRW’s enforcement approach is to have constructive discussions with offenders to provide advice and guidance about responsible practices to reduce these risks.
However, some cases require interventions, such as enforcement notices to remediate any harmful effects caused by the unpermitted activity. The notices may be needed to ensure there is no increased flood risk to people and property or to reverse harm to the environment.
In South West Wales, a business located near the River Tawe in Pontardawe constructed a block wall on top of a NRW flood risk management wall without permission.
The block wall, built by the business owner to improve the security of the property following break-ins, threatened the integrity of the flood defence.
NRW worked with them to ensure the safe removal of the wall whilst ensuring that the flood defence was not compromised and informed them of the requirement to contact NRW before doing any work near the flood scheme in the future.
In South East Wales, a contractor removed tonnes of sediment and gravel from the bed of the River Ebbw near Newport without permission, and embedded block stone into the banks.
This significantly altered the river’s natural dynamics which, if left, would have had impacts on the channel downstream. It also caused environmental damage, including a wild bird nesting habitat.
Upon discovering the offence, NRW immediately instructed the contractor to stop the work and issued Remediation Notices.
The offender complied with all requirements of the notices, including reintroducing the silt and gravel upstream in piles to allow the river to naturally redistribute the material.
NRW also investigated a report of unpermitted construction work on the bank of the River Thaw near Cowbridge.
A property owner had built a raised earth embankment around the property to protect against flooding, and also installed an outfall pipe in the riverbank for drainage.
There was a risk that the embankment could have diverted flood water and increased the flood risk to neighbouring properties.
The property owner acted swiftly, complying with NRW’s Remediation Notice and restored the riverbank to its original state.
Tim England, NRW’s Operations Manager for Flood and Water Management, said:
“Our enforcement work across South Wales highlights the importance of regulating flood risk activities.
“We aim to educate, advise, and guide offenders while also addressing the impacts of works carried out without permission, using a range of enforcement actions to reduce the risk to people and wildlife.
“This work is an integral part of managing flood risk, helping nature to recover and making our communities more resilient to climate change.”
With 1 in 7 homes and businesses in Wales at risk of flooding, and with the climate emergency bringing more extreme weather, it is more important than ever that people know and understand their flood risk.
Ahead of the winter period, NRW is encouraging people who live in areas at risk of flooding, but who have not experienced flooding before, to take three simple steps to help protect their home, possessions and family from the devastating effect of flooding in the future:
- check your flood risk by postcode online on NRW’s website
- sign up for free flood warnings from rivers and the sea in Welsh or English
- be prepared when flooding is forecast
For more information visit naturalresources.wales/flooding