Landowners affected by the River Thames Scheme
Published: 16 April 2024
What surveys are happening?
Refer to the our survey work page for further information on what surveys are happening.
If you have any queries regarding surveys, please email: RTS.surveys@dalcourmaclaren.com
Members of the River Thames Scheme project team conducting some bird surveys.
What is the River Thames Scheme Lands team?
Dalcour Maclaren acts as the Scheme's land agents. Their role is to liaise and engage with Persons with an interest in Land (PiLs) to;
- provide information and updates on the Scheme,
- to negotiate with landowners to facilitate agreements to acuire the land required for the Scheme and
- to arrange access for surveys on land required by the Scheme.
Land interest engagement
If you have a legal interest in land you are categorised as a PiL. Legal interests in land could include;
- freehold ownership
- a lease of the land or
- if you hold rights over someone else's land.
If you fall into any of the above categories, we will contact you with information about the Scheme as the design evolves. If your land is required to be surveyed in developing the Scheme, we will contact you via phone or email to arrange access.
Following Statutory Consultation in early 2024, we will continue to engage with PiLs through regular communications. We will be able to provide scheme and design updates as we finalise our outline design ready to submit our Development Consent Order (DCO) in mid-2025.
Heads of Terms (HoTs) will be issued to landowners where the permanent or temporary acquisition of land or rights over land is needed to facilitate the Scheme and we are intending to begin issuing HoTs in Summer 2024. The HoTs are a non-binding agreement between parties forming the basis of a formal option agreement. The terms outline the eventual acquisition agreement including the pertinent terms for both parties, accompanied by a plan of the land affected.
Landowner engagement will continue leading up to our DCO application and during and after the examination of the DCO. If our DCO is confirmed, we will continue to engage with landowners into the construction phase of the project.
W e will engage in the form of site meetings, project updates through letters, emails and telephone calls and ongoing engagement for survey access where required. Please contact our land agents Dalcour Maclaren at rts@dalcourmaclaren.com if you have any queries relating to compensation and acquisition on the River Thames Scheme.
What do we mean by the scheme boundary or the Red Line Boundary (RLB)?
The RLB is a red line drawn around the area affected by the Scheme. It shows all the land required for the Scheme, whether that be land to be permanently acquired or land used temporarily for construction. All PiLs are contacted formally as part of the DCO process. If you are included in this boundary, you will have received and will continue to receive statutory notices, letters and information about the development of the Scheme. If you have not received any information regarding your property within the RLB and believe you could be a PiL, please contact us at rts@dalcourmaclaren.com.
Land referencing
As a PiL within the RLB, you should have received a Landowner Interest Questionnaire (LIQ). if you have not, please contact us at rts@dalcourmaclaren.com. The purpose of the LIQ is to establish anyone who might have a legal interest or ownership rights over land within the RLB.
The Planning Act 2008 requires us to identify all interests in land within the RLB. We do this by reviewing all detail held by the Land Registry. The LIQ is intended to obtain further information about any interests that are not recorded at the Land Registry, and to verify that the information held by Land Registry is correct or if it has changed recently. We must make reasonable efforts to ensure all interests are accurately recorded and represented in the Book of Reference and this process enables us to demonstrate that we have done this. It will ensure that we can engage with the right people.
As part of the referencing process and to further ensure efforts are made to identify all interested parties
Unregistered Site Notices (USNs) were erected and monitored for a period of six weeks. This process is particularly important where land is unregistered, where we have been unable to identify a suitable contact to send an LIQ to identify the legal interest. LIQs were also sent to adjacent landowners of unregistered parcels with the aim of obtaining further information about the unregistered land. The USNs contained a brief description of the Scheme and land plan detailing of the unregistered area as well as Dalcour Maclaren's contact details.
Section 48 notice
In advance of the period of Statutory Consultation, 21 January 2024 to 4 March 2024, you will have received a S48 notice (PDF) detailing where materials were available for consultation along with locations where you were able to view these materials and speak to members of the Scheme. During this period, you were invited to submit your consultation feedback through various channels including online forms, email, or post. S48 Site Notices were erected and monitored for a period of six weeks to allow owners and the holders of interests in unregistered land parcels (parcels not formally registered and recorded on Land Registry) to be identified and provide them an opportunity to take part in the consultation process. Generic notices were also erected to notify the wider public about the Scheme and the period of Statutory Consultation.
As we near the date when we intend to submit the DCO, confirmation schedules will be issued. These schedules are to confirm that we have the correct ongoing information for you and other PiLs and therefore reflect the most up to date information in our submission. Following a successful DCO decision, further Statutory Notices will be issued.
The scheme timelines and milestones
Refer to our development consent order page for further information on River Thames Scheme milestones and the forecast dates.
Notices and claimant process
The River Thames Scheme is being delivered in a partnership led by the Environment Agency and Surrey County Council. The process of serving notices and processing claims will be completed under the authority of the Environment Agency.
- What is a notice of entry?
- Why does the Environment Agency need to enter my land?
- When will this entry occur?
- Rights to claim
Notices are a normal procedural process and are sent out to landowners to ensure that when access is taken to private land it is done so in the correct manner and with the correct period of notice given. They also trigger the right to claim compensation by the landowner.
The notice will include a plan identifying the area of land which will be subject to the required entry.
A notice of intended entry allows the Environment Agency and any appointed contractor the right to access private land. In the case of the River Thames Scheme (RTS) we are currently serving notices in line with the Water Resources Act 1991.
The Water Resources Act 1991 gives the Environment Agency the power to enter premises for operational purposes in accordance with schedule 20 of the same Act.
It is not necessary for a notice to be served every time the Environment Agency or an appointed contractor wishes to gain access to your property but one will be served at the start of each round of surveys. Notices should not arrive unannounced and the Lands Team will look to contact you ahead of serving notice to advise you in advance of what access is required, for what purpose and when access will be taken. The Lands Team will contact you ahead of each round of access requirements.
The notice will confirm the nature of the works intended to be carried out, outline the dates of intended entry and confirm any machinery that may be taken on to the land.
As the scheme progresses, it is possible that notices will be served in line with other statutes such as the Housing and Planning Act 2016 or the Planning Act 2008.
Who receives a notice of entry?
The Environment Agency are only required by the Water Resources Act 1991 to serve notice on the occupier of the land. However, to ensure full engagement, notice is also issued to the landowner, where occupation is with a different party.
The Environment Agency would look to enter your land for the following reasons:
- To carry out flood risk management works, surveys and other activities required to provide necessary information about the land to help engineers finalise their design of the RTS.
- To enable access to other land where we are proposing to carry out works, surveys and other activities.
Other activities can include surveys, measurements, tests, experimental borings, installing a site compound and storing machinery and equipment.
Except in an emergency, or in some certain circumstances by agreement directly with you, the Environment Agency will provide 7 days' notice from the date of service. However, before issuing the notice our land agents, Dalcour Maclaren, will have contacted you directly, explained the process and provided further detail about the access. This will offer you the opportunity to highlight any concerns or problems that the entry may cause you and for practical arrangements to be made to alleviate concerns and address specific problem
The landowner or occupier of the land can claim and may be entitled to compensation for any loss or damage caused as a direct result of taking access to your land.
The claim is submitted by the landowner or their appointed land agent and is usually negotiated with a representative of the Environment Agency's Estates Team.
The process of negotiating the claim is done so in line with the Water Resources Act 1991.
It is important that, should a claim be submitted, it is fully justified through the provision of evidence, identifying how the loss occurred and what the cost of that loss amounts to.
Once negotiated and agreed, payment is approved by the Scheme. Final payment typically takes up to 4 weeks to be completed.
Who can I contact?
Should you have any specific questions regarding land access, claims or surveys, please get in touch with our land agents, Dalcour Maclaren:
Disclaimer: it should be noted that by contacting us through this email address you are allowing us to pass on your data to a third party within the scheme who may be best placed to answer your query. Your details will only be used for the purposes of the scheme.
Document history
Published: 16 April 2024
Updated: 20 November 2024