Main rivers
Designated larger rivers and streams
- Design stage
- Co-design
- Also known as
- Watercourses, rivers
- Datasets
- Frequency of updates
- Every 6 months
- Useful links
- Discussion
- Join the discussion on GitHub
- Last updated
- 5 September 2024
Backlog
Who asked for 'Main rivers' data?
The Geospatial Commission has published a list of 65 open datasets that they believe are used during the housing and planning process. This includes Main rivers
What is the driver for the request?
Other
Which 2024 focus area does the request support?
Modern planning software
Screen
What is the 'Main rivers' consideration?
Main Rivers are a legal designation relating to watercourses.
Main rivers are usually larger rivers and streams. They are designated as such, and shown on the Main River Map. The Environment Agency carries out maintenance, improvement or construction work on main rivers to manage flood risk. Other rivers are called ‘ordinary watercourses’. Lead local flood authorities, district councils and internal drainage boards carry out flood risk management work on ordinary watercourses.
Is there legislation that defines 'Main rivers'?
Yes
What is the legislation that defines 'Main rivers'?
Water Resources Act 1991
What is the specific part of the legislation that describes how a 'Main rivers' gets designated?
Guidance under S193E outlines how Environment Agency designates Main River
What is the specific part of the legislation that requires the publication of 'Main rivers'?
The Water Resources Act 1991, Section 193A states that "The Agency must provide reasonable facilities for inspecting the main river map for England in electronic form."
Who, in law, is responsible for the planning consideration or makes decisions about 'Main rivers'?
The Environment Agency
Which organisations do we think should publish the data?
Environment Agency
Is the Main rivers a trigger?
No
Is the Main rivers something to consult during plan making?
Yes
Provide information about when Main rivers is used during plan making
The main rivers dataset will be consulted during plan-making and decision making in planning.
Is there any Main rivers data already available?
Yes
What Main rivers data is currently available?
- The Statutory Main River Map (publisher: The Environment Agency; coverage: England; licence: OGL version 3)
Do we think the data should come from a single source?
The Environment Agency
Will a data standard be required?
No
Research
Do we understand the lifecycle of a Main rivers?
No
Do we understand how the data is created/produced?
N/A
Where will or should the data be used?
N/A
What other planning considerations does it interact with?
N/A
Who are the statutory consultees for Main rivers?
N/A
Other than the statutory consultees who are the primary users of Main rivers? How do we expect them to use Main rivers?
N/A
What are the planning needs for this data?
In both policy and DM planning the presence of rivers indicates other constraints and considerations, such as; flood plain, nutrient neutrality requirements and biodiversity. The river itself is a constraint that would be considered when looking for suitable sites to develop.
Who are the types of users who might benefit from having access to Main rivers data?
N/A
What are some potential uses of Main rivers data?
N/A
What's the value of adding Main rivers data to the platform?
N/A
From what we have learnt so far are there any risks to making Main rivers data available?
The Main River data is a subset of river data. For example OS open rivers has more data within it - but - is not a statutory dataset