Community protection What can the council do?
Smells, dust and fumes
If speaking to the person causing the issue hasn't resolved the problem, you can contact us to explain what the issues are and how they are affecting you. We aim to resolve issues quickly and so we will contact the person alleged to be causing the issue to discuss and try to agree a solution informally.
If it is not possible to reach an informal solution we may suggest mediation between you and the person in order to try and resolve the issues.
We find that most issues can be resolved informally or through mediation, however the council can potentially take further formal action if it is felt necessary once other options have been explored.
Action can be taken where a statutory nuisance is found to exist. The types of problems we can deal with this way are however restricted to the following:
- Fumes from boilers
- Smoke from bonfires or chimneys
- Smells from accumulations of waste
- Odour arising from the manner in which animals are kept
- Dirty premises
- Odour from industrial, trade or business premises
- Odour from the storage of waste
We have no powers to deal with cooking odours from domestic sources.
Bonfires and smoke
If speaking to the person with the bonfire hasn't resolved the problem, you can contact us to explain what the issues are and how they are affecting you. We aim to resolve issues quickly and so we will contact the person alleged to be causing the issue to discuss and try to agree a solution informally.
If it is not possible to reach an informal solution we may suggest mediation between you and the person in order to try and resolve the issues.
We find that most issues can be resolved informally or through mediation, however the council can potentially take further formal action if it is felt necessary once other options have been explored.
Remember, if the fire is only occasional this is unlikely to be considered a nuisance, just because you can see or smell the bonfire, it may not constitute a nuisance.