Axe Brue Internal Drainage Board
The Axe Brue Internal Drainage Board was constituted in 2012 under the Land Drainage Act 1991. It was formed by an amalgamation of four existing Drainage Boards (Lower Axe, Lower Brue, Upper Axe and Upper Brue). In July 2018 the Board underwent a reconstitution and is now comprised of 12 elected members and 13 appointed members allocated to 3 district councils that fund a Special Levy contribution to the Board. Elections take place on a three yearly cycle. The next election will take place Nov 2019. Register of Members’ Interests forms are available to view by appointment; please call 01278 789906. Axe Brue Chair – Mr Jeff Fear. Clerk – Mr Roger Burge.
List of elected and appointed members will be displayed following the Nov election.
Axe Brue Sample Nomination Form Axe Brue Nomination Form & Instructions Axe Brue Electoral Districts
Parrett Internal Drainage Board
The Parrett Internal Drainage Board was constituted in 2005 under the Land Drainage Act 1991. It underwent a reconstitution in July 2018 and is now comprised of 12 elected members and 13 appointed members nominated to the Board by the District Councils that fund the Special Levy contribution to the Board. Elections to the Parrett Board take place on a three yearly cycle. The next election will be Nov 2019. Register of Members’ Interests forms are available to view by appointment; please call 01278 789906. Parrett Chair – Mr Tony Bradford. Clerk – Mr Roger Burge.
List of elected and appointed members will be displayed following the Nov election.
Parrett Sample Nomination Form Parrett Nomination Form & Instructions Parrett Electoral Districts
North Somerset Levels Internal Drainage Board
North Somerset Levels IDB were welcomed into the Somerset Drainage Board Consortium on 1 April 2019. The Consortium now provides common Engineering, Administration, Finance and Clerking support to all three Boards, sharing resource and experience, providing continuity of service and best value for money. Whilst North Somerset Levels IDB will retain The Cider House in Hewish as an operational hub, the first point of contact for all enquiries will be the Consortium offices at Bradbury House, Highbridge, tel: 01278 789906.North Somerset Levels IDB. NSLIDB Chair – Mr Tim Bush. Clerk – Mr Roger Burge.
List of elected and appointed members will be displayed following Axe Brue & Parrett elections.
Elected Members
Elections for the seats on the Board are carried out in two phases. Firstly nominations for the seats are required and if there are more candidates nominated than seats available then a poll must take place.
Nominations can only be accepted from ratepayers for ratepayers in that electoral district of that Board. There are also minimum land ownership or land occupation requirements to qualify for nomination or to be a nominee. Only the payers of agricultural drainage rates, with no outstanding drainage rate payments are eligible to vote. Ratepayers will have between 1 and 10 votes to cast for each seat depending on the size of their land holding or occupation. Other members of the public living in the area are not eligible to vote and their interests are represented by the appointed members placed on the Board by the local District Council.
Elected members can also be representatives of ratepayers. If you are an agricultural ratepayer and would like more details of the election process or becoming an elected member please contact the Clerk of your Drainage Board.
Appointed Members
Appointed members are a relatively recent addition to the makeup of Drainage Boards. Their inclusion followed the 1991 Land Drainage Act and their function is to represent the interests of the householders whose contribution to the costs of a Drainage Board is paid indirectly through their Council Tax payment. This overall payment from the District Council to the Board is termed the Special Levy. However this cost to the District Council is reduced by partial reimbursement received from central government through the revenue support grant.
To be equitable, and as there is usually more than one District Council contributing to the cost of the Special Levy, each council is allowed to nominate appointed members in proportion to their fraction of the overall cost of the Special Levy.
Qualification to be an appointed member is not restricted to Councillors; anyone with knowledge and experience of matters relating to the functioning of a Board can be nominated, although it must be done through a District Council.
If you have an interest in becoming an appointed member please contact the Clerk of your local Drainage Board.
