Nuisances and nuisance reports

Environmental pollution

We have a legal duty to ensure that environmental pollution, both domestic and industrial, is kept to a minimum.

Environmental pollution includes:

• noise from domestic and commercial premises
• smoke from premises and air quality
• fireworks
• artificial light pollution
• smells and odour from industry, trade and business premises
• accumulation or deposits on premises
• insect and fly infestations from industrial, trade or business premises

To make a report about accumulation or deposits on premises please call our Customers Services team or use our Contact Us form. This will then be dealt with by our Environmental Protect team.

To make a nuisance report about light, odour, smoke or noise, please use our dedicated online form:

Smoke nuisances

Bonfires generate smoke and smells that can be bothersome to neighbours. They are also an environmentally harmful way of disposing of rubbish.

There are no specific byelaws prohibiting bonfires in Three Rivers District. However, if your bonfire causes a statutory nuisance, action can be taken against you under the Environmental Protection Act 1990. Allowing bonfire smoke to drift into your neighbour’s garden, preventing them from opening their windows or hanging washing outside, may be considered a statutory nuisance.

If you have a bonfire at home, you should:

• ensure it takes place late in the day
• tell your neighbours beforehand
• avoid damp days when smoke hangs in the air for long periods or windy days when smoke can be carried over roads or into neighbouring properties
• avoid burning wet wood to minimise the amount of smoke produced

Never leave a bonfire unattended or leave it to smoulder – always douse it with soil or water. Do not allow your bonfire to continue after dusk.

You must not burn:

• rubber tyres
• anything containing plastic, foam or paint
• engine oil, methylated spirits or petrol
• bottles or cans

If your bonfire is found to be a statutory nuisance, you may be served an abatement notice. If you fail to comply with the notice, you can be prosecuted and, if convicted, given a fine of up to £5,000. You can also be given a Community Protection Warning/Community Protection Notice.

More environmentally friendly alternatives to bonfires include:

• making compost from your garden waste
• recycling your garden waste with our garden waste service
• disposing of recyclable rubbish at a recycling centre

Report a smoke nuisance

If a bonfire is causing you a nuisance, you should first try to resolve the problem directly with the person responsible for it. Often, people are unaware that they are causing a nuisance. If the problem persists, you can report the smoke nuisance.

If you light a fire and allow smoke to drift across the road and endanger traffic, you can be given a fine. If you are aware of a fire posing a danger to traffic, please report it to the police on their non-emergency telephone number, 101.

Burning of business, commercial and construction waste

Burning commercial or trade waste is not permitted on any site without permission from the Environment Agency. Businesses must dispose of waste legally or face prosecution.

Please report any business you think may be illegally disposing of waste.

Noise nuisances

A certain amount of noise is an inevitable consequence of modern life. However, if noise is persistent and unreasonable and interferes with your enjoyment of your home, it becomes a major problem and a nuisance. We investigate complaints made against two types of noise nuisance:

• domestic noise nuisances, which include loud music, parties, some DIY and building work, animal noise and house intruder and vehicle alarms
• commercial noise nuisances, which include the operation of industrial and commercial processes, delivery noise, demolition and construction site noise, entertainment and noise from pubs and restaurants

If your complaint is regarding animal noise, please see our animal noise nuisance page.

We do not take action over noise disturbances from children, roads, railways, aircraft or wildlife.

Make a noise complaint

If you are affected by a noise nuisance, you should first try to resolve the problem directly with the person making the noise. In many cases, they may simply be unaware of the problem.

If you are still experiencing issues, you can report the problem to us.

We only deal with noise that is a statutory nuisance, which is determined by the frequency and duration of the noise. We do not deal with noise complaints related to one-off incidents.

To report a noise nuisance to us, please complete our online form:

We then ask that you fill in a noise nuisance diary (docx) that details:

• the dates on which the noise occurred
• the times the noise started and finished
• details of what happened, such as what you saw, heard and how it affected you

Please return the noise nuisance diary to us within 21 days. We cannot take any action without receiving the diary sheets as evidence.

You can also use the Noise App to support your diary sheets.

Please note: we do not provide an out-of-hours service. All out-of-hours complaints will be logged the next working day.

After we receive your report,  we will assess your diary entries or Noise App submissions in collaboration with the Council’s Antisocial Behaviour Officer. 

The Council’s Residential Environmental Health Department will only deal with noise that is a statutory nuisance, which is determined by the frequency and duration of the noise. We do not deal with noise complaints related to one-off incidents.

We will contact the person to let them know a complaint has been made about them and liaise with them to resolve the situation.

If no improvements are made, we will carry out further investigations, which may include visits to assess the noise or installing noise monitoring equipment.

If it is felt that your report would not constitute a statutory nuisance, but should be investigated as antisocial behaviour, your case will be in investigated by the Council’s Antisocial Behaviour Officer. This Officer will contact you to discuss your report, should your case be allocated to them.

Noise from construction sites

The planning permission for a development restricts the working hours that noisy construction work is allowed to take place.

We can also impose further restrictions on working hours and the types of machinery that can be used on construction sites under the Control of Pollution Act 1974.

Noisy work on construction and demolition sites in Three Rivers District must be limited to:

• 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday
• 9am to 1pm on Saturdays

No noisy construction work is allowed on Sundays or public holidays.

If you are planning potentially noisy DIY projects, make sure you tell in advance any neighbours who may be affected by the noise.

Intruder Alarm Registration Scheme

All alarm systems used for security purposes in homes and vehicles must be properly installed and maintained to avoid disturbance to the public. Alarms must also be fitted with an automatic cut-out device so they do not sound for longer than 20 minutes.

If you let an alarm you are responsible for ring unnecessarily, action can be taken against you under the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

To avoid formal action being taken against you in the event of a complaint about alarm noise, you may wish to register for our Intruder Alarm Registration Scheme. The scheme is open to homeowners and businesses. Providing key holder details means you can be contacted if your alarm is reported to be causing a nuisance.

To register, please complete an Alarm Key Holder Form (PDF). Send your completed form to enquiries@threerivers.gov.uk.