East Lindsey District Council Environmental Protection Service receives hundreds of complaints each year about odour. Different people can be affected by odour in various ways, what may cause distress to one person may not bother another person. The Environmental Protection Service has to investigate any complaint having regard to the Environmental Protection Act 1990. The odour has to be judged on what is reasonable to the average person.
The most common complaints are about the disturbance caused from industrial odour, odour from accumulations of waste and odour from polluted watercourses.
If you are being disturbed by odour the best approach may be to approach the person causing the odour to explain what the problem is. This may sound like a daunting task but people can get very upset if they are contacted by the Local Authority with no prior warning, especially if they did not know they were causing a problem. By trying to resolve the problem informally you can help to avoid unpleasant legal action which can sour the relationship between you and your neighbour, and sometimes the problem can be resolved more quickly.
If, after approaching the person who is causing the odour problem you still continue to experience problems you could try writing to them, explaining the effect the odour is having on you (and your family), you should also refer to any agreements you previously came to and ask them again to stop causing an odour nuisance.
Start to keep a diary relating to the problem, you should detail any times you speak or write to the person causing the odour, you should also write the dates and times of when you are disturbed and the effect it has on you. This will provide the first level of evidence in any subsequent legal action that may be needed. Be careful to make records as the events happen, not sometime later and try not to exaggerate. For example:
| Date | Time odour started | Time odour stopped | Brief description of odour | Inconvenience caused |
| 20/8/03 | 08.00 am | 10.00 am | solvent smell from paint spraying | Got a headache, had to shut my windows |
| 21/8/03 | 4.30 pm | 6.30 pm | smell from fumes due to revving of cars | felt sick |
If you require any further information regarding odour, please do not hesitate to contact the Environmental Protection Service on (01507) 601111 or contact us be e.mail
