Avoiding Noise, Smoke and Dust

There are regulations in place to avoid pollution from specific forms of nuisance.

Statutory Nuisance

Environmental responsibility includes not creating a Statutory Nuisance (i.e. forms of nuisance that are governed by legislation). In simple terms, this means something that is likely to be harmful to a person's health or interfere with their legitimate enjoyment of the land.

Such a nuisance could arise from a variety of causes, for example:

• Production of noise dust or smell
• Discharge of smoke, fumes gases or steam
• The poor condition in which you maintain your premises, accumulation of rubbish or possibly from the animals you choose to keep
• Artificial lighting, such as bright security lights that illuminate neighbouring premises to an undesirable degree

If you think there is any possibility of causing a statutory nuisance, then you need to assess the likelihood by checking the conditions around the perimeter of your premises under a range of circumstances, e.g.

• At different times of the day
• Under varying weather conditions, wind strength and direction, etc
• During different business activities

If you are planning some activity that you know might cause a problem for neighbours, such as demolition work that could be noisy and dusty, the best option by far is to inform your neighbours beforehand and take account of their legitimate needs and concerns when organising the work.

Noise

A particular statutory nuisance is noise, especially when it occurs at inappropriate times such as at night. If noise is inevitable, it is invariably more acceptable during what is considered to be the normal working day.

Much can be done to minimise nuisance from noise, at little or no expense simply by a little forethought, for example:

• If you know that a certain item of equipment will be noisy in use, consider carefully where it is sited in order to make best use of existing noise barriers such as buildings, walls, or even careful use of trees and other forms of landscaping.
• Consider using solid forms of perimeter fencing rather than open wire fences.
• For particularly noisy equipment, consider housing it inside a building that has been fitted with sound proofing and then keep doors and windows closed.
• Try to avoid the use of tannoys for communication and ensure adequate arrangements are in place to respond to alarm systems in order to minimise false alarms and ensure they do not sound interminably.
• Beware of excessive noise from vehicles by ensuring they are properly serviced and engines are not left running when not required. In fact, wherever practicable, consider replacing diesel powered vehicles with gas or even electric alternatives.

Smoke, Grit and Dust

Pollution of the air from smoke, grit or dust must be controlled. So, for example, it is important to avoid producing "dark smoke" (as defined by British Standard BS2742), from occasional bonfires (e.g. burning tyres) or from installed furnaces or boilers.

In fact, a new furnace must be capable of continuous operation without emitting smoke, when using the fuel for which it was designed. Consequently, if you wish to install a new furnace, you need to obtain smoke control approval from the local authority in addition to the normal planning permission for its construction.

There are equivalent constraints on the production of grit and dust so that local authorities have the authority to impose limits and to prosecute if the limits are breached.

---

See Reference pages for information on Legislation / Glossary / Weblinks