Odour and Dust

The Statutory Nuisance legislation (Environmental Protection Act 1990) also covers odour, dust fumes and gases emitted from premises so to be prejudicial to health or a nuisance. Complaints are subject to the standard complaint procedure.

In some cases odour caused by spreading on agricultural land can be reduced. Farmers do need to spread, so some odour is to be expected. However, farmers must work in line with their code of practice. We are only likely to investigate a complaint if the code is not followed. Note that the chemicals which cause odour are usually of low levels and not harmful to health. Also sensitivity to odour can vary significantly between individuals.

Dust can also be produced during site clearance and construction works. We recommend that site developers take suitable precautions to dampen down dust to limit the effect on the surrounding area. As most development takes place over short periods, it is unlikely that any dust caused could be classed as a Statutory Nuisance.  In these cases, we can give advice but are not able to take formal action.  However, there may be Planning Conditions relating to dust control at the development - please visit the Planning Delivery webpage to learn more

Learn more about Statutory Nuisance

Further information on our complaints procedure can be found in our Advice Leaflets

Alternatively, please check the links at the left hand side of the page for further information, or click here to return to the Pollution homepage.