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Report a pollution concern or nuisance

To report a pollution concern or complaint, please use the form below. 

Report a complaint

You can use this form to report: 

  • noise
  • smoke
  • odour
  • artificial light
  • insects 
  • dust 
  • fumes

We cannot deal with the following:

  • railway traffic noise, road traffic noise or aircraft noise
  • sound insulation issues
  • smoke and odour from cigarettes or vapes
  • odour from domestic cooking
  • wasps nests

How to solve the issue

1. Tackle the source

First, talk to the person who is causing the nuisance. They will usually not realise they are disturbing you. Most complaints are resolved this way, and you may get a quicker result than if you wait for an official to arrive. 

2. Report it to us

Report your complaint to our Environmental Health service. If we agree that there is a nuisance then we will contact the person causing the problem - informally at first, but with an ‘abatement notice’ if needed. If the person causing the problems fails to stop causing the problem and ignores the notice, then they can be taken to Court.

We take steps to investigate complaints that relate to:

  • fumes or gases from buildings
  • waste from industrial or business premises
  • accumulations or deposits

Not all smells or odours can be classed as a nuisance by us, which means we can’t stop these smells under the law. These include:

  • commercial processes: 'best practicable means' can protect any industrial or commercial operation if they are doing everything within their means to prevent causing a problem
  • businesses that have permission known as ‘authorised processes’
  • manure or similar which has been ploughed in within 72 hours of it being spread: by law this is accepted. If the odour from the land is not coming from this activity and we know where it is coming from, we can check to see if it is a ‘statutory nuisance’.
  • Milton sewage works: contact Anglian Water on their hotline 08457 145145 and state that the smell is from the Cambridge Water Recycling Centre, Cowley Road. Provide them with the short-code for the site which is: CAMBST.
  • landfills and waste sites: if you are experiencing odours from the Milton landfill site or the Amey Cespa waste site in Waterbeach, contact the Environment Agency on 0800 80 70 60 (24-hour service). It is recommended to call at the time the odours are occurring.

If you’re planning a bonfire:

  • do not burn damp grass clippings or 'green' material as this creates thick smoke
  • do not burn any oily rags, rubber, plastics, damp garden waste or other materials which would create heavy smoke or toxic fumes
  • do not burn a bonfire when your neighbours have washing drying outside, enjoying their gardens, or have windows wide open
  • do not light bonfires 1 hour before sunset or leave them burning overnight. Choose the time of day and weather that will cause the least amount of possible problems for your neighbours
  • do not leave your fire to burn slowly with smoke but no flames
  • do tell your nearest neighbours before you light a bonfire so they can be prepared
  • do burn material quickly in small amounts so the least amount of smoke is created. An incinerator makes this much easier
  • do choose your bonfire site carefully, well away from trees, fences and windows. Have a hose-pipe and buckets of water handy just in case.

We investigate complaints that relate to:

  • noise from premises (homes and businesses)
  • noise from vehicles or equipment in a street (for example, car alarms but not traffic noise)
  • noise from amplified music in the street (for example, car stereos)
  • noise from machinery or equipment in the street
  • noise from bird scarers (if only advice is needed about this then refer to the National Farmers Union Code of Practice)

We do not act on the following:

  • noise from shouting and brawling in the street
  • noise from motor vehicles (except in the cases mentioned above)
  • noise from the playing of games in the street or public open spaces
  • noise from aeroplanes - you’ll need to contact the Civil Aviation Authority on 020 74536524
  • noise from ministry aircraft - you can find out about low flying in your area
  • noise from roads - you’ll need to contact the Department of Transport on 020 7944 8300
  • noise from railways - you’ll need to contact Network Rail on 020 7557 8000
  • engine testing noise from Marshall's Airport – you’ll need to contact Marshall's on 01223 373950

Where we can’t take action, we will do our best to advise you of other organisations (for example, Police, mediation service, Housing Department or Citizens Advice Bureau) who may be able to help you.

Noisy neighbours

If noise from your neighbours is making life difficult for you, we would usually expect that you have spoken to your neighbour to discuss the problem. Some people feel that this is not possible, and the matter has gone past this approach. If this is the case, then the Environmental Health department may be able to help (if you are a South Cambridgeshire District Council or housing association tenant you’ll need to contact your housing provider for help).

We will help by:

  • Asking you to keep a diary record of when you are being bothered by the noise and how it is affecting you. We would ask you to do this for at least 2 and up to 6 weeks before returning it to us for assessment.
  • Once your diary record has been returned to us, and an officer is confident a nuisance is likely to be happening, we would contact the person(s) responsible for the noise to advise them that a complaint has been made. At this point no mention is made of where the complaint has come from but in some cases people are able to guess. When we contact the person(s) responsible for the noise, we explain what noise is being complained about and the legislation that we are investigating under. Some people are unaware that they are causing a problem, and this gives them the chance to see if any changes are needed.
  • If after 3-4 weeks the noises have not reduced and we feel the matter needs further investigation, we will then arrange for an officer to install monitoring or recording equipment. This will depend on how often it happens and for how long the noise bothers you at certain times of the day.

Every case is different and we consider many different factors and investigate the situation in detail. If we gather evidence to support your complaint and establish that there is a statutory noise nuisance under the Environmental Protection Act, then we can issue a letter which notifies a person that a statutory nuisance exists. This gives them 7 days to stop the nuisance. If the nuisance continues, no further warning will be given, and a Noise Abatement Notice will be served.

This process does not give you a quick answer. Your neighbour may stop creating a noise after receiving the first letter about the complaint or they may continue until formal action is taken. Evidence may have to be presented in court and it is important that at each stage it is collected in the correct manner.

There are cases where we don’t have enough evidence to support any enforcement action under the Environmental Protection Act. In such cases, residents can take their own private action in court.

Ask for a noise investigation

If you want us to start a noise investigation, email us on env.health@scambs.gov.uk or call us on 01954 713 000.

We don’t take anonymous complaints and will need the following details:

  • your name, address and contact number
  • the address you are complaining about
  • the nature of your complaint

Reducing noise at home

  • make sure noisy household equipment (for example, washing machines) are away from walls that connect to another room
  • when buying a new household appliance, ask how noisy it is
  • carry out noisy DIY jobs during normal waking hours
  • apologise to neighbours in advance for noises caused by DIY
  • keep the volume of TV, radio and music as low as possible, especially late at night. If you want to turn the volume up, use headphones
  • if your dog barks when left alone, arrange to leave it with a friend
  • if you have a party, tell your neighbours ahead of time, and keep the noise to a minimum.

House alarms

If you have an old or faulty burglar alarm, replace it with one complying with British Standard BS 4737. Make sure to tell us that you have an alarm, by using the form below. You’ll also need to register a key holder with the police.

If your alarm sounds and we have to disconnect it, you’ll be fined for this.

Light pollution is artificial light that is allowed to illuminate or pollute areas that should never have been lit. It is classed as a ‘statutory nuisance’ when the unnatural light coming from the premise can be harmful to health or a nuisance. If it is classed as a statutory nuisance then we can take action to reduce the light or remove it.

We cannot act if the artificial light is coming from the following places: 

  • airports
  • harbour premises
  • railway premises
  • tramway premises
  • a bus station and any associated facilities
  • a public service vehicle operating centre
  • a goods vehicle operating centre
  • a lighthouse
  • a prison
  • streetlights

How to avoid causing light pollution

  • do not fit lights that are not needed
  • do not use extremely bright lights. A 150 watt tungsten halogen lamp is adequate, 300 or 500 watt bulbs are too powerful for homes which want security lighting
  • do not leave lights on when they are not needed, consider controlling lights with passive infra-red detectors, ensuring that they are correctly aligned and installed (for a porch light that is going to be left on all night, a 9 watt compact fluorescent lamp is normally adequate)
  • when aiming floodlights make sure you only light the area that needs lighting (the aim of the floodlight can easily be checked at night when you can see the actual area being lit)
  • be careful not to put light onto other people's properties or into windows, as this can be very upsetting and may cause them to complain
  • adjust your outdoor lights at home
  • avoid using halogen floodlights

Floodlights

Many people install tungsten halogen floodlights. These units can provide satisfactory security lighting if correctly installed and aimed, however, it is rarely necessary to use a lamp of greater than 2000 lumens (150W) in such fittings. The use of a higher power only causes more glare and darker shadows. Glare affects our ability to see and dark shadows offer a good hiding place for criminals.

Many of these floodlights are fitted with detectors to sense the movement of intruders. Un

Floodlights which are recommended to use: bulkhead or porch lights

 

Floodlights and detectors should be aimed to only detect and light people on your property. They should not detect a person or animals walking down the street. If the floodlight is fitted with a timer, this should be adjusted to the minimum to reduce the operation of the light.

For many properties, a better solution for security lighting is to use a bulkhead or porch lights fitted with a low power 600-900 lumens (9/11w) compact fluorescent lamp.

Benefits of using these floodlights include:

  • they can be left lit all night for only a few pounds of electricity per year (so is cheap to run)
  • light is kinder to the environment - provides a gentle wash of light with reduced glare
  • casts fewer shadows reducing the hiding places for criminals
  • units can be fitted with a movement detector if needed
  • units are generally mounted lower and are therefore less susceptible to nuisance switching and complaints from neighbours.