(20KB) (41KB) (35KB) (35KB) (39KB) (50.2KB) (50KB)
The Council works to protect the local environment, investigating complaints about noise and pollution, monitoring air quality and contaminated land, and commenting on any planning application that may have pollution or air quality implications.
If you come across pollution, whether on land, in the air or in the water, please contact us on 0845 129 7777 or 01298 28400. We will generally respond to pollution complaints within three working days – sooner if the pollution problem is judged to be of a serious nature. However, not all incidents of pollution fall within our power to act.
You should keep animals and children away from the location, for their own safety. If the pollution is on your property, you must take reasonable steps to protect others that may be in the vicinity, such as footpath users.
If you are responsible for the pollution, we will advise you of your legal responsibilities, and the action we propose to take. This may include enforcement action, in which case we will also advise you of any right to appeal against our decision.
Monitoring locations have been set up to record background air quality continuously across the High Peak.
Many industrial processes require approvals from us and those approvals set strict conditions to eliminate or minimise any pollution or nuisance. All these processes are subject to regular inspection. The team also investigates complaints from members of the public about air pollution, and will take appropriate action to control any emissions that could be harmful or cause a nuisance.
We monitor nitrogen dioxide levels from roads and fine particular matter in one location
We may decide to monitor certain individual businesses, but we normally get them to do the monitoring themselves.
No.
The results of our nitrogen dioxide and fine particulate matter monitoring are available from the Environmental Health Service.
The Clean Air Acts were introduced to deal with widespread smogs of the 1950’s and 60’s that were caused by the burning of coal for domestic heating and by industry. These smogs were blamed for the premature deaths of hundreds of people in the UK. The Acts gave local authorities powers to declare “smoke control areas” in which emissions of smoke from domestic properties are banned.
Between 1967 and 1985 High Peak Borough Council created smoke control areas covering Glossop and Hadfield, and Buxton. It is an offence to emit smoke from a chimney of a building (including a domestic property), in a designated smoke control area unless the smoke is caused by an “authorised fuel” or “exempt” appliance. It is also an offence to acquire, or sell by retail delivery an unauthorised fuel for use, within a smoke control area unless it is used in an exempt appliance (and permitted for use in that appliance). The current maximum level of fine is £1,000 for each offence.
Authorised fuels are fuels which are authorised by Statutory Instruments (Regulations) made under the Clean Air Act 1993. These include inherently smokeless fuels such as gas, electricity and anthracite together with specified brands of manufactured solid smokeless fuels. These fuels have passed tests to confirm that they are capable of burning in an open fireplace without producing smoke.
Exempt appliances are appliances (ovens, wood burners and stoves) that have been exempted by Statutory Instruments (Orders) under the Clean Air Act 1993 or Clean Air (Northern Ireland) Order 1981. These have passed tests to confirm that they are capable of burning an unauthorised or inherently smoky solid fuel without emitting smoke.
Please note that any work that affects an existing chimney (ie fitting a new stove or liner), or creating a new chimney now comes under building control regulation. Such work has to be done under the guidance of a building inspector or by an installer who is a member of a "Competent Person Scheme".
Further information regarding authorised fuels and exempted appliances can be found at www.uksmokecontrolareas.co.uk (External website**)
Enter your address or postcode and click the Find button to view details:
| Smoke Control Areas |
|---|
We investigate about 400 noise complaints every year. These range from domestic hi-fi equipment and barking dogs, to ongoing disturbance from major industrial processes. Where complaints are justified, we take action to remedy the problem. We give advice to householders and businesses on noise control and noise reduction, and control noise via the the development control process.
Many noise complaints are intermittent, which can make it difficult for officers to witness the problem first hand, or to resolve the complaint quickly. Sophisticated noise recording equipment is available to help us collect evidence, and is often used to assist investigations. We will seek to resolve complaints informally whenever possible, but can take legal action if officers are satisfied that a statutory nuisance exists.
Find out how you can do your bit.
The authority monitors construction activities to minimise pollution caused by noise, dust and other nuisances.
Construction sites are in the open and are often near existing residential accommodation.
Residents will in general accept construction site noise but will complain if work starts early or finishes late or takes place on Saturday afternoon, Sundays or Bank Holidays. Complaints about construction noise can be investigated by Environmental Health staff.
As no Noise Abatement Zones have been made within the High Peak Borough Council’s area, no Noise Level Register is therefore available.
For further enquiries concerning Noise Abatement Zones please contact the Environmental Health Section on 0845 129 77 77 or 01298 28400.
The law of Statutory Nuisance is part of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, and is designed to provide a summary procedure for the remedy of a variety of unacceptable activities of a domestic and commercial nature which either put health at risk, or harm the amenity of neighbours.
The main types of domestic Statutory Nuisance are:
For a matter to be a Statutory Nuisance, it must be either:
Most domestic nuisance complaints relate to the latter element, and to be considered a statutory nuisance the following considerations must be applied:
Our Environmental Health Service is responsible for dealing with statutory nuisances, and can quite often intervene in and defuse potential problems before they deteriorate into Anti Social Behaviour or neighbour disputes.
We will adopt an informal approach in the first instance, by writing to both parties to an alleged nuisance and urging a 'common sense' solution to the problem. This is often sufficient to resolve the problem. We do not pass on the name of the person who requests this service to anyone, but will not act on 'anonymous' complaints. The person allegedly affected by the noise may be asked to complete record sheets as part of this process.
Where problems persist, we will write more formally to the alleged perpetrator, and may carry out some form of noise monitoring, either by personal visits or use of recording equipment.
If the problem cannot be resolved, and we have gathered enough evidence to be satisfied that a statutory nuisance exists, an Abatement Notice can be served on the perpetrator requiring steps to be taken to stop causing a problem.
The final stage of the process is prosecution, where the perpetrator fails to comply with the terms of the Abatement Notice. We will in such cases pursue the matter through the Courts, with a view to enforcement of the conditions of the Notice, and a fine for the failure to comply.
There are procedures where an individual affected by noise can take direct action through the Magistrates Court.
Further information is available on the Environmental Protection UK website. (External website**)
Under new laws we have a duty to identify, inspect and, where necessary, arrange for remedial work on land which is contaminated by former industrial or waste disposal activities. A number of potentially contaminated land sites have been identified across the High Peak and, in addition to responding to requests for advice and investigating complaints, a planned programme of inspections will be undertaken or, in line with current Central Government advice, remediation of known sites will be sought through the planning process. This will take many years to complete.
The person or company responsible for the contamination or, if they cannot be found, the current owner of the land, will normally be responsible for the cost of remedial work. A comprehensive Contaminated Land Strategy (541KB) was published during 2001.
A booklet, Developing land within Derbyshire - A guide to submitting applications for land that may be contaminated (1.7MB) , has been produced by Derbyshire Local Authorities as a guide to the planning process for the development of land which may be contaminated. It outlines the legal requirements placed upon land owners, consultants and builders for undertaking contaminated land investigations and risk assessments.
High Peak Borough Council is required under Section 78R of Part IIA of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to maintain a Public Register of Contaminated Land that holds certain prescribed information.
This includes the following:
At present High Peak Borough Council, do not have any sites that meet the criteria for inclusion onto the register, and it is empty. However, the register can be viewed below.
Does the Local Authority have to put the notification that the land is contaminated land on the register?
No. A register entry is not created until any one of the following happens:
However, at this stage, much of the information that was contained in the original notification will be included in the register entry.
Can a landowner argue that the fact that his land is contaminated land should be treated as commercially confidential, because it might affect its value?
No. This is specifically rejected by section 78T(11).
**Please note: High Peak Borough Council is not responsible for the content of any external websites.