Report odours, fumes and gases

We can investigate complaints about smells from premises that could be a statutory nuisance.

The Environmental Protection Act 1990 allows us to take action against odour problems that do one of the following:

• unreasonably and substantially interfere with the use or enjoyment of a home or other premises
• injure health or be likely to injure health

What can cause nuisance smells

Nuisance smells can be caused by problems with:

• agricultural activities like spreading manure or slurry onto land (if they last beyond a reasonable amount of time)
• sewage handling facilities
• food businesses and commercial kitchens, for example, cooking smells
• animals, livestock and poultry
• abattoirs, slaughterhouses and building that handle animal by-products like pet food factories
• paints and solvents from garages or workshops
• smells from people's homes that are caused by an accumulation of rubbish or another smelly substance

If your complaint relates to the Sewage Treatment Works, as well as completing the reporting form, you should contact Anglian Water (03457 145 145) who maybe able to investigate and take immediate action. 

What happens next

When you make a complaint, we will contact the business or person responsible to investigate the problem.

We will consider things such as the time of day, frequency and duration of incidents, locality and the reasonableness of the activity causing the problem.

Businesses have a legal defence of 'best practicable means'. This means that they can appeal a legal notice made against them if they can show they have taken all reasonable steps to avoid causing the nuisance.

If we find that the problem is a statutory nuisance, an abatement notice can be served to the person or business responsible. Anyone who continues to break the law can be fined.