Environmental Protection Act 1990 - Part III - Statutory Nuisances

Section 79 defines several statutory nuisances:

• Any premises in such a state as to be prejudicial to health or a nuisance;
• Smoke emitted from premises so as to be prejudicial to health or a nuisance;
• Fumes or gases emitted from premises so as to be prejudicial to health or a nuisance;
• Any dust, steam, smell or other effluvia arising on industrial, trade or business premises and being prejudicial to health or a nuisance;
• Any accumulation or deposit which is prejudicial to health or a nuisance;
• Any animal kept in such a place or manner as to be prejudicial to health or a nuisance;
• Noise emitted from premises so as to be prejudicial to health or a nuisance; and
• Noise that is prejudicial to health or a nuisance and is emitted from or caused by a vehicle, machinery or equipment on a highway, road, footway, square or court open to the public.

Some exclusions from these categories exist including contaminated land (s.79(1A)), activities of the armed forces (ss.79(2) and 79(6A)(b)), certain (i.e. specific) categories of smoke and dark smoke (s.79(3)), traffic (s.79(6A)(a)) and demonstrations (s.79(6A)(c)).

Local authorities have a duty to make periodic inspections of their area or in response to a complaint from the public (s.79(1)). The local authority can serve an offending occupier with an abatement notice to cease the nuisance (s.80(1)). The occupier can appeal the notice, within 21 days, to the Magistrates' Court, in England and Wales, or Sheriff Court in Scotland (s.80(3)). Otherwise, it is a crime to fail, without reasonable excuse, to comply with the notice (s.80(4)), punishable on summary conviction by a fine at level 5 of the standard scale, rising by ten percent for every further day on which the nuisance continues (s.80(5)). If the offence is committed by the occupier of business premises, the maximum fine is £40,000 (s.80(6)). Where the notice is not complied with, the local authority may take reasonable action to abate the nuisance and recover the expenses from the occupier (s.81(3)-(4)), if necessary by installments or by making a charge on the property (s.81A(1)).

Any person aggrieved by a statutory nuisance may make a complaint to the Magistrates or Sheriff (s.82(1)). The court can order the occupier to abate the damage and, in England and Wales only, impose a fine of up to level 5 on the standard scale (s.82(2)). It is a crime, without reasonable excuse, to disobey such an order, punishable on summary conviction by a fine at level 5 of the standard scale, rising by ten percent for every further day on which the nuisance continues (s.82(8)).

Section 84 repeals local authority controls over offensive trades under the Public Health Act 1936.