Making changes to a ditch or watercourse

As Lead Local Flood Authority (LLFA), Hampshire County Council is responsible for giving permission for works on ordinary watercourses

An ordinary watercourse is a watercourse that is not part of a main river. It includes rivers, streams, land and roadside ditches, drains, cuts, culverts, dykes, sluices, sewers (other than public sewers within the meaning of the Water Industry Act 1991) and passages, through which water flows. Water may not flow at all times of the year.

Ordinary Watercourse Consent (OWC)

Hampshire County Council is responsible for assessing flood risk in the county. You must apply to the County Council for consent to carry out work which may:

place or alter a structure within an ordinary watercourse
affect the flow or storage of water within an ordinary watercourse

This includes temporary and permanent works.

This consent is known as Ordinary Watercourse Consent (OWC) or Land Drainage Consent. Check our guide to ordinary watercourse consent to find out if your works need consent.

Works to main rivers

If the watercourse is part of a main river, you will need to apply for a flood risk activity permit from the Environment Agency.

Find out if a watercourse is a main river

Application conditions

For all applications, the following conditions apply:

The fee is £50 per structure or change. The total cost depends on both the temporary and permanent works you are proposing. See the ordinary watercourse application charging guide.

You must supply all requested information and pay the fee before the application will be validated. Once an application has been validated, we have two months to process it and come to a decision.

Depending on the site and the proposed work, we may need to consult several organisations. If this leads to additional queries, you will need to respond to these.

You may require other licences and permits for this work to be completed, such as:

permission from the Highway Authority for vehicle access or dropped kerb
permission from Natural England to work in a protected area
an environmental permit from the Environment Agency

These licences and permits are your responsibility to obtain. See Highway Authority Licences and Permits.

Pre-application advice

We offer a pre-application service for Ordinary Watercourse Consent. This provides:

specific advice on what you need to consider for the proposed works on your site
advice about the level of detail we need from you in order for us to validate the application

There is a charge for this service.

Request Pre-application Advice for Ordinary Watercourse Consent

Apply for ordinary watercourse land drainage consent

One application can cover multiple structures if they are located in the same area or on the same watercourse.

If you know the number of proposed changes or structures, you have the option to pay online at the end of the form. See the OWC charging guide.

After the application has been assessed, additional payment may be needed to validate and progress your application.

Read the guidance notes before you apply.

Apply for Ordinary Watercourse Land Drainage Consent

Payment for Ordinary Watercourse Consent

If you have any queries regarding payment of the application fee, email [email protected]. If you have a reference number, include this in the email.

Applications determined

To see where applications for land drainage consent have been made and the decision, view the 'HCC planning application portal'. If you wish to view only applications for land drainage consent, type the letters 'owc' in the search bar.