Standing Advice
With the aim of helping streamlining our advice provision and regulatory response role, we are developing and publishing a set of ‘Standing Advice’.
Standing Advice is pre-written, published guidance provided for planners, developers, other authorities, residents, riparian owners and/or consent applicants and should be taken into account prior to receiving, or in lieu of receiving, site-specific advice or site-specific consultation responses (e.g. planning applications) provided by MLC.
The aim of these is to be clearer, a lot earlier in the process, with a wide range of customers and partners regarding key issues, considerations and constraints that they need to take account of early within their plans, proposals, applications and/or within regulatory decision making.
This suite of notes is relevant where plans/applications interface with and or impact the Middle Level Commissioners’ and associated Internal Drainage Board district, catchment, system, waterways, operations and assets.
| Reference | Title | Primary Audience | Issue date |
| MLC001 | Middle Level System Flood & Drainage Infrastructure Capacity | Local Planning Authorities (LPAs): Fenland District Council, Huntingdonshire District Council, King’s Lynn & West Norfolk Borough Council, Peterborough City Council
Lead Local Flood Authorities (LLFAs): Peterborough City Council, Cambridgeshire County Council, Norfolk County Council Minerals & Waste Planning Authorities; Peterborough City Council, Norfolk County Council, Cambridgeshire County Council Highways Authorities: National Highways, Peterborough City Council, Norfolk County Council, Cambridgeshire County Council Environment Agency Developers Internal Drainage Boards within the Middle Level catchment area Anglian Water |
April 2026 (Version V2) |
| MLC002 | Protection of the Middle Level Commissioners’ 20 metre Byelaw strip | Local Planning Authorities (LPAs): Fenland District Council, Huntingdonshire District Council, King’s Lynn & West Norfolk Borough Council, Peterborough City Council
Lead Local Flood Authorities (LLFAs): Peterborough City Council, Cambridgeshire County Council, Norfolk County Council Landowners/occupiers/residents/tenants/riparian owners Developers Internal Drainage Boards within the Middle Level catchment area |
COMING SOON |
| MLC003 | Culverting of Middle Level Commissioners’ watercourses | The MLC (and IDBs we administer) have adopted a culverting policy for many years (available here). This policy is still live but will soon be updated and then supported by an accompanying ‘Standing Advice’ note. | |
| MLC004 | TBC | ||
We appreciate that our Consents & Byelaws web-pages and processes require evolution to improve the customer journey. If there are specific areas of improvement that you would like to see, please email planningmatters@middlelevel.gov.uk
We have limited capacity to make these improvements within our current backlog of planning and consenting cases. They will be made as and when capacity enables.