Main River Consultation Areas for Planning Authorities

A 20-meter easement GIS layer defines areas where local planning authorities must consult the Environment Agency before development. The data is derived from the Statutory Main Rivers Map and related asset management systems, incorporating a precautionary approach around structures. Produced by the UK Environment Agency, this layer was last updated in April 2026.

Use Cases

• Identify land parcels within the 20-meter easement zone for mandatory consultation using the GIS polygon features.
• Check for discrepancies between the statutory Main River line and asset management records, particularly around culverts and structures.
• Analyze spatial relationships between proposed development sites and the consultation area boundaries to assess regulatory requirements.

Strengths

• Definitive spatial layer derived from the authoritative Statutory Main Rivers Map.
• Incorporates a precautionary approach for structures like culverts, cross-referencing asset management data.

Limitations

• Spatial coverage is limited to England only.
• Specific row count, file size, and temporal coverage of the source data are unknown.

Provenance

Source

Environment Agency (UK).

Collection Method

Derived from the Statutory Main Rivers Map and the Agency's Asset Information Management System.

Time Range

null

Freshness

Data was last updated on 2026-04-07.

Geography

England.