Do It Online
Report It
Apply For It
Find It
Pay It
Have Your Say
Search the site
Contact Us
Environmental Health
Lewes District Council
Southover House
Southover Road
Lewes
East Sussex
BN7 1AB
Tel: 01273 484354
ehealth@lewes.gov.uk
Minicom 01273 484488
Find Southover House
On Google Maps
Smoke
Advice and guidance for residents planning to have a bonfire or wishing to complain about a neighbour causing a nuisance.
Having a bonfire is allowed. However there is guidance to follow to ensure your neighbours are not inconvenienced and you don’t break the law.
Before burning anything in the garden it is courteous to inform your immediate neighbours. Allow them time to remove washing from lines or close windows to their homes.
Having a bonfire on a regular basis would not be encouraged. Building contractors should not burn rubbish on site. It should be carried away by a licensed contractor to the local landfill site.
Guidance
Residents should not burn substances that cause noxious fumes or thick black smoke. This may become a statutory nuisance incident and action can be taken.
Therefore avoid burning household rubbish, rubber tyres, or anything containing plastic, foam of paint. Only burn dry material. Never use old engine oil, meths or petrol to light the fire or encourage it.
Don’t start a fire when air pollution in your area is high and weather conditions unsuitable. Smoke hangs in the air on damp, still days and in the evening. If it is windy, smoke may be blown into neighbour's gardens and across roads.
Avoid burning at weekends and on Bank Holidays when people want to enjoy their gardens. Never leave a fire unattended or leave it to smoulder - douse it with water if necessary.
Choose the bonfire site carefully, well away from trees, fences and windows. Have a hose-pipe and buckets of water handy just in case things get out of control.
The ashes, when cold, can be raked into the soil as a useful fertiliser once the fire is out and cool.
Complaints
The Environmental Protection Act 1990 allows us to take offenders to court should their bonfires cause a nuisance to their neighbours. A bonfire should not have an unreasonable effect on their enjoyment of other people's homes or gardens.
We investigate reports of smoke, although all incidents are not classed as a nuisance. We can and will act where possible, but this does not happen in every instance.
People complaining will be asked to keep a diary of events when fires take place. This helps us to investigate the matter. We have no bye-laws within the Lewes district area stipulating when bonfires may be lit.
However, any bonfire on trade premises which causes dark smoke is an offence regardless of whether anybody else is affected. This falls under the Clean Air Act 1993. Fines could issued of up to £20,000 for each offence.
