SCHEDULE 3Exempt facilities and waste operations to which section 33(1)(a) of the 1990 Act does not apply: descriptions and conditions

PART 4Exempt flood risk activities: descriptions and conditions

Placement of stones or logs in a main river in England for habitat enhancement18

1

Placement of stones or logs in the channel of a main river in England for habitat enhancement.

2

For the purposes of this paragraph, the specific conditions are—

a

any stones placed in the channel are of a type that occur naturally in the main river and do not exceed 400mm in any dimension,

b

any log placed in the channel is less than 2 metres in length, less than 400mm in diameter and oriented at an angle of within 45° to the flow of water,

c

any log placed in the channel—

i

is from a type of tree that occurs naturally in the vicinity of the main river, and

ii

is securely fixed to the bed or bank of the main river,

d

the stones or logs are placed in the channel over no more than 20 metres of the length, and 20% of the width, of the main river,

e

the placement of stones or logs does not occur in, or within 200 metres upstream of, a type of habitat included in a list published by the Secretary of State under section 41 of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006 or by Welsh Ministers under section 7 of the Environment (Wales) Act 2016,

f

the works are not carried out in, or within 100 metres of, a water body in England that is part of a main river classified as of high morphological status by the Agency in accordance with the relevant directions, and

g

no stones or logs are placed within 100 metres of—

i

a non-agricultural building in the floodplain,

ii

a natural channel habitat structure,

iii

an existing emplacement of stones or logs placed in the main river for habitat enhancement, or

iv

a man-made structure on or in the main river.