Complaints about odours and fumes

Odours and fumes we can investigate

We can investigate odour or smell as a nuisance from most sources.  However, with regards to complaints about the spreading of manure or slurry on the land, we follow the informal advice provided by the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) that manure or similar should be ploughed in within 72 hours of it being spread.

We need to know where the odour comes from.

We're often asked to investigate odours from kitchen exhaust/extraction systems serving restaurants and takeaways. In these cases, we can check that the extractor system and ducting are being maintained, serviced, and cleaned properly. There will always be odd incidents from commercial kitchen systems, but they should not be excessive.

Odours and fumes we can't investigate

We are not able to deal with odours from domestic premises, such as cooking and cigarette smoke coming from within people’s homes. However, odour from accumulations within residential properties can be investigated.