Garden bonfires; the rules
Horton Kirby & South Darenth Parish Council
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The following advice has been taken from the Gov.uk website;
There are laws about burning certain types of waste and to prevent bonfires causing a nuisance.
Burning domestic waste
You cannot get rid of household waste if it will cause pollution or harm people’s health. This includes burning it.
You can get rid of household or garden waste by composting or recycling it. Contact your local council to find out how to dispose of garden waste and about recycling in your area.
You could be fined if you light a fire and allow the smoke to drift across the road and become a danger to traffic.
Complain about a neighbour’s bonfire
Your council has a responsibility to investigate complaints of smoke and fumes that could be a ‘statutory nuisance’.
They can issue an ‘abatement notice’ if a neighbour’s bonfire is causing a nuisance. Your neighbour can be fined if they do not follow the rules of the abatement notice.
Further information from Sevenoaks District Council;
Noise and other nuisance
- The Environmental Protection team can investigate some types of noise and nuisance complaint.
- We will decide if such disturbances are causing a statutory nuisance and we will take action if necessary to resolve such matters.
- We investigate complaints from both domestic properties and commercial businesses.
What action can you take to help resolve a problem?
If you feel able to do so, it is often better to try and resolve a problem informally by yourself. Your neighbour may be genuinely unaware that their activities are having a negative impact upon you. The introduction of a third party such as the Council or a Landlord may sometimes make a situation worse and can cause tension between neighbours.
If you would still like to report a complaint please contact us.
Out of hours problems
We operate a limited, out of hours service to report noise nuisances on Fridays and Saturdays between 6pm and midnight.
The service deals with urgent ongoing nuisance incidents and complaints under investigation.
If you are suffering from a noise nuisance at these times, you can download the Noise App.
Once you have made a recording, you should contact us the next working day to log your complaint.
Our out of hours service can be contacted on 01732 227000.
Contact Information
Lisa Johnson
- 01322 865193
Find Horton Kirby & South Darenth Parish Council
The Village Hall, Horton Road, South Darenth, Dartford, Kent, DA4 9AZ
Additional Information
Vanessa Maskery - Assistant Clerk