Intense and persistent odours affecting a home, and its occupants can often cause upset. Officers within the Environmental Health Team will investigate odours that are causing a significant impact on the enjoyment of a home.
However, officers can only deal with odours that are emitted from a commercial or industrial premises and is affecting a residential property.
Areas Environmental Health do not cover:
- Residential to residential odour issues
- Pollution Prevention Control regulated industrial activities regulated by SEPA
Example of odours that can cause disturbance:
- Septic tanks
- Food manufactures and restaurant kitchens
- Farms containing livestock
- Animal food processing plants
- Paint or solvent fumes for workshops, garages, and nail bars
- Burning of bonfires/stoves
- Sludge and manure spreading, please see spreading of sludge and manure
Possible courses of action:
- Officers will recommend that you speak to the person or business causing the source of your complaint.
- Officers may then request that you keep a detailed record of the odour occurrences in the form of monitoring sheets. (This record may be used if legal action is taken later, and you should be prepared to go to court in such cases)
- Officers may contact the person(s)/business being complained about, advising them of the complaint and ask them to take steps which may be necessary to reduce the odour.
- Officers may require visiting your property to witness the odour, and due to the nature of odours they may require several visits to experience the disturbance. They will assess the odour strength, characteristic, time and the offensiveness of the odour.
Information collated from the investigation by the officers will determine what action they may take. In some cases, officers may not be able to resolve certain odour complaints and redirect you to other agencies that can take action, or we may recommend you take your own action.
Spreading of sludge and manure
Sludge is the remaining waste material from sewage plants treating domestic/urban waste waters that is used as a fertiliser on fields. The spreading of sludge in Scotland is authorised and registered by SEPA.
There can often be complaints of odours when sludge or animal manure is spread onto fields that are nearby domestic properties, but it is often difficult for officers to investigate this accepted anticultural activity due to the transient nature of odour. However, officers will look at complaints on a case-by-case basis and advise accordingly.
Contact the Environmental Health Team on eh@pkc.gov.uk or 01738 476476 if you identify concerns regarding the above.
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