Defra has confirmed a shake-up of the Ouse and Derwent Internal Drainage Board in Yorkshire, halving elected seats from 22 to 11 and moving the district to a single electoral division. The Statutory Instrument was made on 26 February 2026 and came into force on 27 February 2026.

Covering rural communities east and south of York, the Board oversees drains, ditches and pumping assets that keep fields workable and homes passable after heavy rain. Officials describe this as a governance change; day-to-day operations continue while the legal framework is updated.

Under the Land Drainage Act 1991, the Environment Agency prepared the Scheme and the Secretary of State has confirmed it with modifications. Government recorded no objections before the Order was signed by William Harrington, Head of Rural Flood Risk at Defra.

The reconstituted Board will comprise 11 elected members. For the first term only, those ‘elected members’ will be appointed by the Secretary of State, holding office until one year after the first 1 November following their appointment, before routine elections resume.

The district’s three electoral divisions created under the 1977 Yorkshire Water Authority Order are scrapped. From now on, the Ouse and Derwent Internal Drainage District is one electoral division, so nominations and ballots will run across the whole district rather than by area.

All property, rights and obligations of the former Board transfer automatically to the reconstituted body on commencement. Contracts, byelaws, drainage rates and ongoing works remain in place without interruption.

The Order extends to England and Wales but applies to England only. The Ouse and Derwent Internal Drainage District continues as established under the 1977 Order; this instrument updates how its members are chosen and how elections are organised.

Ministers have not published a full impact assessment, stating they foresee no, or no significant, impact on the private, voluntary or public sector. Farmers, drainage contractors and local authorities will nonetheless keep an eye on representation with fewer seats available.

For those involved in nominations, the immediate step is to prepare for the Secretary of State’s initial appointments and then the first election under single‑division rules. Rates and the special levy arrangements are unchanged by this Order.

The Northern Ledger will track the appointment list and the election timetable once published, and report what the governance shift means for parishes and businesses across the lower Ouse and Derwent.