The Environment Secretary has announced a new pilot scheme that the government claims will help landowners manage the risk of flooding while also protecting the environment

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Last week Defra secretary Owen Paterson unveiled a new scheme designed to "remove red tape" from flood management risk by allowing farmers and landowners in seven pilot areas to conduct river maintenance without seeking the permission of the Environment Agency.

Under the new scheme, farmers and landowners will be allowed to carry out work to de-silt waterways and cut back vegetation to see whether this improves maintenance work or reduces bureaucracy.

Environment Secretary Owen Paterson said, "I want to make it as simple as possible for landowners and farmers to carry out work to protect their land. Watercourse maintenance can reduce the risk of flooding, enhance the environment and improve water quality. These pilots will make sure that people who want to carry out this kind of work can do so without getting tied up in red tape."

Environment Agency staff will provide advice to landowners and the government has published Good Practice guidance in an attempt to ensure landowners take environmental concerns into consideration during their maintenance work. However, environment and fishing charities including the Wild Trout Trust and Angling Trust have expressed grave concerns that "in many cases, dredging rivers not only damages habitat, it also does not reduce flood risk."

On Friday, the Wild Trout Trust called for a refocus of waterway maintenance and flood protection schemes to "[create] good habitat and a sustainable, self cleansing channel in rivers," arguing that waterways "have been damaged by dredging in an (often misguided) attempt to reduce flooding." 

Nevertheless, Environment Agency Chief Executive Paul Leinster said last week, "We want to make it as easy as possible for farmers to undertake appropriate maintenance work on rural watercourses, whilst still ensuring that wildlife and the environment are properly protected. We look forward to continuing to work together with farmers, environmental groups and others to reduce the risk of flooding."

The one-year pilots will officially begin on Monday (21st October) and will cover seven areas:

• Alt Crossens, Lancashire
• River Idle, Nottinghamshire
• Bottesford Beck, North Lincolnshire
• River Brue, Somerset
• Upper Thames, Oxfordshire
• Winestead Drain – East Ridings of Yorkshire
• River Duckow, Shropshire

NFU welcomes pilot, but warns against budget cuts

Although the NFU welcomed the new maintenance scheme, the union shared misgivings over reductions to the Environment Agency's own river maintenance budget, which coincides with the launch of the pilots. NFU said cuts to the EA's budgets "could cause real issues in the future".

Commenting on the pilot scheme, NFU Deputy President Meurig Raymond said, "I'm pleased that the Environment Agency and Defra are seeking to reduce red tape and make it easier for farmers to maintain watercourses themselves. That said, I'm concerned that more priority isn't being placed on the Environment Agency's own asset maintenance work given last year's flooding. Another five per cent is being trimmed from the Environment Agency's revenue budget in 2014-15 on top of cuts over the previous three years."

Mr Raymond said that the government's policy risks creating "less resilient river systems and an increasing reliance on capital schemes that protect urban areas in isolation." He added, "While farmers can play their part [in waterways maintenance], there's only so much that they can achieve on their own without Government investment."

The union has repeatedly criticised the current government's flood management policies, including most recently Defra's response to an EFRA Committee report into managing flood risk, which it said "sidesteps key issues raised by the NFU and other organisations regarding watercourse maintenance and rural flooding."

The Environment Agency budget has been cut by £45 million since the coalition government came to power in 2010. Groups sceptical of the new pilot scheme have suggested this could be the start of replacing expert EA oversight with 'big society' waterway maintenance as the agency's budget is slashed further.

Mark Lloyd, Chief Executive of the Angling Trust and Fish Legal said last week that the government's "do it yourself dredging [strategy is] a recipe for environmental disaster." He continued, "River management is an immensely complicated and delicate operation that requires great care and expertise to avoid damage to vital habitats for fish and other aquatic wildlife."

He called on the government "to start listening to its own experts and to halt these plans," adding "There are a host of legal hurdles that still have to be overcome, including the European Water Framework Directive."