RAMSEY UPWOOD AND GREAT RAVELEY INTERNAL DRAINAGE BOARD At a Meeting of the Ramsey Upwood and Great Raveley Internal Drainage Board held at The Lion, Ramsey St Marys on Thursday the 7th January 2016 PRESENT A C Roberts Esq (Chairman) J R Clarke Esq R Blackhurst Esq (Vice Chairman) J I Edwards Esq S W Bedford Esq R H Lambert Esq T F Bedford Esq P R Lummis Esq P L E Bucknell Esq C P Wilkinson Esq Mr Robert Hill (representing the Clerk to the Board), Mr David Thomas (representing the Consulting Engineers) and Mr Leo Butler (District Officer) were in attendance. Apologies for absence Apologies for absence were received from G S Halden Esq, C W Pickard Esq and P H Wagstaffe Esq. B.918 Declarations of Interest Mr Hill reminded Members of the importance of declaring an interest in any matter included in today’s agenda that involved or was likely to affect any individual on the Board. Mr Bucknell declared an interest regarding planning applications as a member of the Council's Planning Committee. B.919 Confirmation of Minutes The Chairman advised of an amendment to minute B.893, Mr Lancaster, viz:- The Chairman felt that the Board would not be doing this stretch this year and commented on the shed near the channel and reported that he had been to see Mr Lancaster about clearing the debris. RESOLVED That, subject to the amendment, the Minutes of the Meetings of the Board held on the 21st May 2015 are recorded correctly and that they be confirmed and signed. B.920 Clerk to the Board Mr Hill informed Members that Mr Iain Smith intended to stand down from the office of Clerk of the Board at the end of 2016, that the Middle Level Commissioners would be taking appropriate steps to appoint his replacement and would keep the Board informed. F:\Admin\BrendaM\Word\rugr\mins\7.1.16 B.921 Land Drainage Act 1991 Board Membership – Huntingdonshire District Council Mr Hill reported that Huntingdonshire District Council had appointed Mr P R Lummis to be a Member of the Board under the provisions of the Land Drainage Act 1991. Mr Hill also reported that Mr C J Allen had not been re-appointed. ____________________________ The Chairman welcomed Mr Lummis. B.922 Green Dyke Pumping Station Further to minute B.886, and in Mr Pickard's absence, this item to be carried forward to the next meeting. The Chairman reported that the station had been broken into in July 2015; the intruders lifting the gates and breaking the door down to gain entry, and although there was nothing of value to take, damage had occurred inside the station. He reported that he had authorised the fitting of a steel door together with some adjustments to the fencing in an effort to improve security. RESOLVED That the actions of the Chairman be approved. B.923 Water Framework Directive Further to minute B.891, Mr Hill reported that the Anglian River Basin Liaison Panel of which the Clerk was a member have considered the draft updated River Basin Management Plan revision and the regional programme of projects funded by Defra for WFD. He reported that the Clerk had also been advised that the statutory Plan to be sent to Ministers would be a “high level” generalised document and not contain the list of local “measures” which appeared in the many schedules to the 2009 Plan. Whilst this made the 2009 Plan rather cumbersome, it did at least set out the measures expected in relation to a water body, whereas the present framework leaves the relevant measures to be discussed locally. Part of the ongoing work is to settle what “mitigation measures” are appropriate to the artificial and heavily modified water bodies of the Fens to ensure that they satisfy the requirement to reach Good Ecological Potential. The Middle Level Commissioners' Environmental Officer, Cliff Carson, is a member of a Group, looking at reasonable mitigation measures for such bodies, which are likely in fact to correspond with what was already in our Biodiversity Action Plans and therefore require, as previously advised, little additional work. Mr Hill advised that the Clerk had commented on the revised plan but had to date received no feedback on either this or on the earlier flood risk management plans despite promises from the Environment Agency that this would occur. Mr Hill reported that the Clerk had, however, continued discussions with the Environment Agency's local Water Framework Directive teams. In response to Mr Bucknell, Mr Thomas confirmed that he was unaware of any plans for changes to the maintenance of Bury Brook. F:\Admin\BrendaM\Word\rugr\mins\7.1.16 In response to Mr Edwards concerning the Middle Level Commissioners' using Woodwalton Fen Nature reserve for water storage, Mr Thomas confirmed that Natural England had raised issues concerning this use; that the Commissioners had an arrangement to use the Reserve until 2050, and would only look to change this if other areas became available. B.924 Water Transfer Licences Mr Hill reported that Defra have advised that they propose to bring into force the changes to the water abstraction licensing system, which were outlined and enacted in the Water Act 2003. Successive proposed implementation dates have, however, come and gone. Most significant amongst these changes is the requirement that abstractions simply transferring water from one watercourse to another by IDBs become subject to licensing. Mr Hill advised that it did, however, appear that "Transfer Licences" would not have a designated quantity of water attached to them. Mr Hill reported that the Environment Agency have however also now consulted on a proposed charging regime for transfer licences. This following correspondence with Rory Stewart MP, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, appears to be a "one off" charge imposed to "recover the Agency’s costs of considering the grant of the Transfer Licence", rather than an annual charge. Mr Hill advised that the Clerk has continued to object to it on the basis that, since water is transferred to serve licences granted to end user abstractors by the Agency, the costs of administering such licences should already be met. Mr Hill reported that the Clerk had also taken the opportunity to raise this matter during the Ministerial Visit to Denver, as did representatives of the Downham and Ely IDB Groups. It is also pleasing to report that ADA, after inaction on the matter, appear at last to be taking this up with Defra Mr Hill reported that it had been promised that a consultation on the introduction of Transfer Licences would be published in December but, although a consultation document duly appeared, it had been withdrawn within hours. B.925 Mrs E V Johns Further to minute B.892, Mr Hill reported that no further payments had been received from Mrs Johns since the last meeting and that the property was for sale. He advised that if the Board wished to enforce the sale it would be necessary to obtain a Court Order. The Chairman considered that, as additional costs would be incurred in going to court, and the property was for sale, the Board should monitor the position. RESOLVED That the Board monitor the position and review at the next meeting. B.926 Mr Sterling Further to minute B.917 the District Officer reported that, at a site meeting attended with the Chairman, Mr Sterling had agreed to put the culvert back. He added, however, that the top soil had not been levelled and there was a "small grip" which would allow an excavator over but not a tractor. F:\Admin\BrendaM\Word\rugr\mins\7.1.16 The Chairman reported that he had discussed this with other landowners in the area who had confirmed that the watercourse only served Mr Sterling's land. RESOLVED That the District Officer discuss with Mr Sterling the levelling of the culvert to allow tractor access and, if necessary, to inform the Clerk to send a letter requiring the works to be carried out. B.927 Consulting Engineers’ Report The Board considered the Report of the Consulting Engineers, viz:- F:\Admin\BrendaM\Word\rugr\mins\7.1.16 Ramsey, Upwood & Great Raveley I.D.B. Consulting Engineers Report – December 2015 Pumping Stations Other than the matters reported at previous meetings, linked to the age and condition of the pumping facilities at Green Dyke and the condition of the original pump at New Fen, there is nothing to report and only routine maintenance has been carried out. Pumping Hours Green Dyke Pumping Station Total Hours Run – Dec 14 – Dec 15 = 93 (5356) Total Hours Run – Dec13-Dec14 = 182 (5263) New Fen Pumping Station Total Hours Run – Dec 14 – Dec 15 = 339 Total Hours Run no 1 – Dec 14 – Dec 15 = 327 (965) Total Hours Run no 2 – Dec 14 – Dec 15 = 12 (3098) Total Hours Run - Dec13-Dec14 = 671 Upwood Common Pumping Station Total Hours Run – Dec14 - Dec15 = 105 (3771) Total Hours Run – Dec13-Dec14 = 130 (3666) Green Dyke Pumping Station At its last meeting the Board was advised that the cost of a replacement station of a similar capacity would be in the order of £800k-£900k, excluding any track improvements which may be required to facilitate the works. The Board was also reminded that the weedscreen was in a very poor condition and that a temporary repair was carried out to the pump discharge pipeline during 2012 following settlement damage which is considered to be a short term fix only. The recommendation is therefore to replace the station with one incorporating either single or double electric pumps.