Who are the Upper Medway Internal Drainage Board

We are a Board of local landowners and councillors that exists to manage and improve the fluvial drainage district of the River Medway Catchment.

The Board was brought together under the Land Drainage Act. This aimed to provide closer management to areas of special drainage need, as defined by the Medway Letter.

Operating from East Grinstead to Bethersden, we work alongside the Environment Agency and your local authority, to maintain the integrity of our local waterways and land drainage of the surrounding areas.  Our expenses for this service are collected through drainage rates and special levies which are charged annually.

What is an Internal Drainage Board?

Internal Drainage Boards are a statutory body, created to provide management of districts and catchments that have special drainage needs and requirements. They are funded independently of the councils or other bodies, without central government input (outside of the Land Drainage Act and various other acts of parliament). The industry has moved from simply defending agricultural land to becoming a holistic drainage consultant on issues from housing to wetland and wet woodland creation. As climate change moves ever closer and the impacts felt ever more seriously by landowners within the flood plains, the long-term plans of the IDB have never been more important, to determine how they will defend and manage stakeholders against drought and flood in the generations to come.

Is My Property In The District?

Take a look at the map below, or click HERE to view an interactive map