Pollution control - General nuisances

What is a General Nuisance?

You may feel that something that annoys or bothers you is a nuisance.

In law however, things are not that simple. There are two types of nuisance:

• Common law nuisance, and
• Statutory nuisance

What can we do?

The Environmental Protection Team can usually only take action if the nuisance is defined as a Statutory nuisance. The team will take enforcement action using the statutory nuisance legislation under Part III of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

Statutory Nuisances

• Any premises in such a state as to be prejudicial to health or a nuisance;
• Smoke emitted from premises so as to be prejudicial to health or a nuisance;
• Fumes or gases emitted from premises so as to be prejudicial to health or a nuisance (from private dwellings only);
• Any dust, steam, smell arising from industrial, trade or business premises and being prejudicial to health or a nuisance;
• Any accumulation or deposit which is prejudicial to health or a nuisance;
• Any animal kept in such a state as to be prejudicial to health or a nuisance;
• Noise emitted from premises so as to be prejudicial to health or a nuisance;
• Noise that is prejudicial to health or a nuisance and is emitted from or caused by a vehicle, machinery or equipment in a street or road;
• Any other matter declared by other Acts to be a statutory nuisance. For example any well, butt, tank or cistern used to supply drinking water for domestic purposes which is prejudicial to health; any tent, van, shed or similar structure used for human habitation which gives rise to conditions that are a nuisance or are prejudicial to health.

Excluded from statutory nuisance action are dust, steam and smell from a railway locomotive steam engine and noises from aircraft other than model aircraft.

Investigation

An Officer from the team will investigate your complaint and decide whether a statutory nuisance exists in legal terms. The Officer may serve an Abatement Notice requiring that the nuisance be abated or prohibited. They may also restrict any reoccurrence of the nuisance and may ask for work to be carried out. If work is required then a reasonable time must be allowed for it to take place.