Help Us Manage Smoke Pollution
Dealing with smoke can be difficult, especially when the smoke is something you do not expect or have never experienced in your neighbourhood.
Many smoke complaints reported to the Council are ‘one-off’ events that do not have the required evidence for the smoke to be regarded as ‘unreasonable’.
Officers often attend smoke complaints to find themselves in ongoing neighbour-to-neighbour issues, which are not necessarily smoke complaints.
Residential smoke complaints are often regulated under the Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008.
Council officers can investigate and decide whether smoke is unreasonable based on characteristics such as:
- how often it arises
- how long it continues for
- how it affects your health
- the context of the smoke
Often, your neighbour may require some information on how to burn wood correctly or what type of wood to burn. Council can send out factsheets as an educative tool which often resolves smoke complaints.
Here are Ways to Report Smoke Pollution
- We require the exact location of the smoke ‘s source to investigate a pollution complaint.
- Upon submission, you will be asked to submit 14-day smoke logs for an Environmental Health Officer to assess your complaint.