Nuisance

The Environmental Protection team deals with a wide area of activity, especially where nuisance is caused to the occupier of a property. Areas of work include investigation of domestic and commercial noise nuisance, smells, emissions and many others.

The Environmental Protection Act 1990 identifies a number of issues which can constitute a Statutory Nuisance including noise, odour, accumulations or deposits, dust etc.. Whether or not a Statutory Nuisance exists depends on several factors, including the severity, duration, frequency and whether it would interfere with the "average" person's reasonable enjoyment of their property.

If you believe you are affected by a nuisance then it is advisable in the first instance to politely speak or write to the person or organisation responsible. Although you may find this difficult, it is surprising how often people are unaware of the problems they are causing. If you feel unable to contact the person directly or your direct approach has been unsuccessful then please contact the Council.

On receipt of a complaint the investigating officer will write to the person or organisation advising them of the complaint and requesting their co-operation and reminding them of their legal responsibilities. The officer will provide you with information explaining the law and our procedures and will ask you to complete and return a diary, giving details of when the problem occurs and how it affects you. this information is useful for determining the extent of the problem and to identify when it may be possible to witness the nuisance.

When the diary sheets are returned the officer will examine the enteries to determine whether a Statutory Nuisance exists. If appropriate further investigations will be carried out. Should it be determined that a Statutory Nuisance exists, then an Abatement Notice is usually served on the person responsible. If following this, the problem persists, the investigating officer will attempt to gather further evidence to demonstrate a breach of the notice. If the evidence shows non-compliance with the notice court proceeding may be instigated. Please remember that at this stage you and/or other witnessess may be required to provide a statement and give evidence in court.

In certain circumstances, it may not be possible for the local authority to determine whether a Statutory Nuisance exists. Where the problem is intermittent, irregular or unpredictable the assessment may present practical difficulties and sufficient evidence may not be available for the local authority to be completely satisfied that the nuisance exists or is likely to recur.

In these situations, the individual may take private action against the person(s) responsible for causing the nuisance under Section 82 of the Environmental Protection Act.

In order for the council to take action under Section 80 we will need to prove "beyond reasonable doubt" that a nuisance exists, as this is criminal law. An alternative to this may be for you as an individual to take civil action in the County or High Court to stop the nuisance under section 82. As this would be civil law where you only have to prove "on the balance of probability" your chances of success may be greater, none the less, civil action may be costly and therefore it may be advisable to consult a solicitor in the first instance.

Download and complete the Complaint form (Word Document, 0.1 Mb) if you wish to register a complaint against a source of nuisance. Sources of nuisance may be noise, odours or dust.

If the alleged nuisance is happening regularly then download these Log Sheet (Word Document, 1.11 Mb)in order to record the times. This will support the complaint.