Boat Moorings and Marinas: Planning Permission and River Consents

When a mooring needs planning permission

Planning control applies to rivers, canals and lakes, and on the coast it extends down to the low water mark. Two kinds of change bring a mooring within it:

• Operational developmentDriving piles, installing pontoons, jetties, landing stages or slipways, building bank protection or quay walls, and dredging a new basin are building or engineering operations, so they usually need planning permission.
• Material change of useUsing a bank or a stretch of water for commercial moorings, residential moorings, boat hire or boat storage can be a material change of use, even where nothing is built.
• Residential mooringsLiving permanently on a boat at a fixed mooring is a different use from leisure mooring, and councils treat new residential moorings much like new homes: access, refuse, parking, flood safety and amenity all come into play.

Planning permission is only one consent

Most waterside projects need several consents from different bodies, and none of them replaces the others. The usual ones are:

• Flood risk activity permitNeeded from the Environment Agency for works in, over or under a main river, or within 8 metres of it (16 metres if the river is tidal), and near flood or sea defences. In Wales, Natural Resources Wales issues them.
• Ordinary watercourse consentWorks affecting the flow of an ordinary watercourse need land drainage consent from the lead local flood authority or, in its district, the internal drainage board.
• Marine licenceWorks, deposits and dredging below mean high water springs, including in tidal rivers up to the tidal limit, may need a marine licence from the Marine Management Organisation. Between high and low water, planning and marine licensing overlap, so both may be needed.
• Navigation authority consentThe Canal & River Trust for most canals and many rivers, the Environment Agency for the non-tidal Thames (a River Thames accommodation licence), the Port of London Authority for the tidal Thames (a river works licence), the Broads Authority on the Broads, or the local harbour authority.
• Landowner agreementThe bed and banks belong to someone: a riparian owner, the navigation authority, a harbour authority, or on much of the foreshore and tidal riverbed, the Crown Estate. A lease or licence is usually needed before works can start.

Flood risk

Docks, marinas, wharves, navigation facilities and water-based recreation are water-compatible development under Annex F of the National Planning Policy Framework (August 2026), so the Exception Test does not apply. They can even be acceptable in the functional floodplain, if designed to remain operational and safe in a flood, avoid any net loss of floodplain storage, and not impede flows or increase flood risk elsewhere.

That does not extend to sleeping accommodation. Water-based recreation is water-compatible only without it, and floating homes are classed as more vulnerable development, so residential moorings, houseboats and holiday boats for hire to stay on need a flood risk assessment that deals with safe access and how boats and moorings behave in high water. Ancillary buildings, such as a café or chandlery, take their own vulnerability class. Our guide to the flood risk Sequential Test explains how the tests work.

Marinas and river infrastructure

A new or extended marina combines all of the above at a larger scale, plus the landside facilities that make it work. The issues that usually decide it are:

• Environmental Impact AssessmentMarinas where the enclosed water surface exceeds 1,000 square metres are Schedule 2 development under the EIA Regulations, so the council must screen them. Harbour and port works over 1 hectare, and inland waterway construction, are also Schedule 2 development.
• Navigation and river regimeBasin entrances, pontoon lines and dredging must not obstruct navigation or change flows, siltation or bank stability. The navigation authority and the Environment Agency will want hydraulic and navigation evidence.
• Ecology and water qualityMany estuaries and rivers are protected sites, so a Habitats Regulations Assessment may be needed. In-channel works are also often checked against the water body's objectives under the Water Framework Directive Regulations, and fuel berths, pump-out and boat washdown need pollution controls.
• Biodiversity net gainPlanning permissions in England generally need a 10% biodiversity net gain. Works in or close to a river or canal bring in the statutory metric's separate watercourse units, which can be harder to deliver than habitat units.
• Landside facilitiesCar parking, boat storage, cranes and hoists, workshops, facilities blocks and access roads need planning permission in their own right, and in the Green Belt they are tested against Green Belt policy.
• Heritage and landscapeCanals are often conservation areas, with listed locks, bridges and warehouses, and many estuaries are in National Landscapes. Design and materials matter.

Existing and unauthorised moorings

Since 25 April 2024, a breach of planning control in England becomes immune from enforcement after 10 years, whether it is a structure or a change of use. If moorings or a pontoon have been in place, without breaks, for longer than that, a Lawful Development Certificate can confirm the position, supported by evidence such as photographs, invoices and licences from the navigation authority. A planning certificate does not provide the other consents, which have their own rules.

Getting the strategy right

The order of applications matters. Navigation authorities and the Environment Agency often want to see the scheme before the council decides, and a planning permission can be unusable if a permit or licence is later refused. We map the consents at the outset, settle the design with the navigation authority and regulators, and then run the applications in parallel. For larger projects, see our consenting strategy service.

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