An odour can be a statutory nuisance. If you want us to investigate please contact us via the My Sandwell Portal or Sandwell App.
This may depend on:
- How long the odour persists for;
- The type of smell and how it affects you;
- Also the character of the area, for example, in the countryside, you would expect odour from farming activities.
For it to be a statutory nuisance, it must be from a trade or business premises.
Judging whether odour is a statutory nuisance can take time, especially if it is difficult to predict when the odour will occur and if it only lasts for a short period. This is why it is very important that you complete and return your monitoring forms.
Although we can investigate complaints of odour from an unknown source, formal action may not be possible.
The types of odour problems we can investigate are:
- Odour from accumulations of waste;
- Odour from keeping animals;
- Odour from industrial, trade, or business premises.
. In general, when a complaint is made we will:
- Contact you to gather additional details of the complaint;
- Contact the premises alleged to be causing the odour and explain the Council’s procedures for investigating. Very often this informal approach is sufficient to resolve matters and no further action is necessary;
- Send diary or monitoring forms for you to complete;
- Where the officer is satisfied that the odour amounts to a statutory nuisance, the owner or occupier of the premises will be required to reduce the odour to an acceptable level or prove they have used Best Practical Means (BPM).
If no monitoring forms are returned, no further legal action can be taken.