Concern over rising costs and more red tape hampering farmers’ ability to maintain rivers and streams on their land, forms part of the NFU response to consultations from Defra and the Environment Agency into the maintenance of watercourses.

The NFU has been engaging with its members on the issues as they seek to find remedies to flooding affecting their, and neighbouring, land and property.

NFU flood management and access adviser Matt Jeffes said “The NFU recognises that there is a role for farmers as riparian owners to undertake work such as clearing blockages, removing accumulations of silt and controlling vegetation. However, to facilitate this, Defra and the Environment Agency (EA) need to establish a better, more straightforward regime and easy to follow guidance to enable farmers to undertake such works in a timely manner, without undue bureaucracy or cost, while providing protection to the environment.

“The new permitting regime proposed by Defra and the EA is restrictive and likely to be confusing for farmers who will need to make use of an array of exclusions, exemptions and standard rules permits under the proposals for basic watercourse maintenance works. We are also concerned about the likely need for riparian owners in lowland areas to seek bespoke permits for routine watercourse activities and a subsequent increase in costs and bureaucratic burden.

“This combination of extra restrictions, burden and costs, at the same time as the withdrawal of maintenance by the EA is likely to increase flood risk to both agricultural land and rural communities.

“The draft regulations set out in the Defra and EA consultations suggest that substantial work is still needed to strike a fair balance that facilitates farmers to undertake such works whilst continuing to protect the environment.”