Statutory nuisances and complaints
Each year, the council's Environmental Protection team receives approximately 2,000 complaints from the general public and businesses regarding a variety of issues that are causing them a nuisance.
There are many different procedures available to officers, that may enable them to address these complaints but most are dealt with by the statutory nuisance provisions under the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
What is a statutory nuisance?
The term has its origins in the huge changes and adverse environmental conditions brought about by the Industrial Revolution.
It was fundamental to the sanitary legislation that was first enacted in the 1840s and in the 20th century in the form of the Public Health Act 1936. This legislation continues in the form of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and part III of the Act lists statutory nuisances as:
- State of premises
- Smoke emitted from premises
- Fumes or gases emitted from premises
- Any dust, steam, smell or other effluvia from industrial, trade or business premises
- Any accumulation or deposit
- Any animal kept in such a place or manner
- Any insects from industrial, trade or business premises
- Artificial light from premises
- Noise emitted from premises
- Noise emitted from or caused by a vehicle, machinery, or equipment in a street
- Smoke, fumes, or gasses emitted from any vehicle, machinery or equipment on a street, other than any vehicle machinery or equipment being used for fire brigade purposes.
A statutory nuisance is defined as any of the above categories that in the opinion of the local authority officer is "prejudicial to health or a nuisance" having regard to the frequency, the duration and the severity of the event.
Powers to remedy a statutory nuisance
If Environmental Protection receive a complaint they will start an investigation to determine if the complaint is justified or not.
As a business operator you will be contacted by a member of the team to discuss the alleged complaint and will be required to assist in our investigations. If, after investigation, the complaint is not justified - no further action will be taken and you will be advised of the outcome.
If however the complaint is justified you will advised accordingly and may be requested to undertake works to remedy the situation. This is the most common situation and complaints are resolved without the recourse to formal action.
In the minority of cases, where either the complaint cannot be resolved quickly or the person responsible refuses to take action to remedy it, the local authority has a duty to serve an abatement notice to ensure that the statutory nuisance is abated.
Should this be the case, the authority will endeavor to work with you to ensure that a suitable remedy and timescales are applied when serving the notice. Should you fail, without reasonable excuse, to comply with the notice you will be guilty of an offence and upon conviction liable to a fine not exceeding £20,000.
In exercising its obligations under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, officers have the power of entry onto your premises at any reasonable time to determine of a statutory nuisance exists or to undertake any other duty placed on the local authority under the act.
It is an offence to obstruct an officer exercising their powers of entry which is subject to a fine not exceeding £1,000.
The nuisances and pollution pages provide more information on how the Environmental Protection team will investigate complaints.
Who to contact
- Name
- Environmental Protection
- Address
- Turnpike House
631 Eccles New Road
Salford
M50 1SW
Map to this location - Telephone
- 0161 737 0551
- environment@salford.gov.uk
This page was last updated on 2 April 2012
