Bonfires

Bonfires are unnecessary. They can affect neighbours as well as contributing to poor air quality. Bonfire smoke can spoil your neighbour's enjoyment of their property, preventing them from opening their windows, sitting in their gardens or hanging out washing. As well as affecting your own health, those residents who suffer from respiratory conditions, such as asthma, can also be badly affected by smoke.  It can also reduce visibility in your neighbourhood, putting motorists, cyclists and pedestrians at risk.

Although there are no direct byelaws covering bonfires in the borough, if a bonfire is considered a nuisance we can take formal action. Instead of burning your waste and in particular garden waste, consider:

Information for Businesses:

Fires containing trade or commercial waste are illegal unless subject to an exemption issued by the Environment Agency - details of this exemption are available on the gov.uk website:

Waste exemption: burning waste in the open

This exemption allows you to burn plant tissue and untreated wood waste from joinery or manufacturing in the open air.

If you would like to find out more about how to dispose of trade and commercial waste correctly please contact the Environment Agency:

It is also an offence to burn any materials on industrial or trade premises or which has come from a business, which will create dark smoke. This includes; plastics, oil, paint, rubber, mattresses, sofas, tyres, painted or coated wood, chipboard and particle board.

Smoke and ash from a commercial bonfire can also cause an actionable statutory nuisance.

Making a complaint:

The Environmental Protection Team can investigate complaints where a resident or business is being significantly affected by smoke from a  bonfire. You can also let us know if a bonfire on industrial or trade premises or associated with a business practice is producing dark smoke. Councils must look into complaints about bonfires that could be a ‘statutory nuisance’.

We will normally telephone you to talk about the problem. We may then visit your home to assess the nuisance and if appropriate we can then approach the person responsible.

The Environmental Protection Team do not enforce waste management regulations and concerns  should be referred to the Environment Agency Incident Hotline on 0800 807060 (24hrs).