Number of smoke nuisance complaints received in the last 10 years (2015 to 2025)
Case reference FOI2025/00637
Received 27 March 2025
Published 23 April 2025
Request
I request information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 regarding complaints about smoke nuisance within your local authority. Please could you provide the following data:
1) The number of complaints received about smoke nuisance in the last 10 years (please provide a year-by-year breakdown from 2015 to 2025.)
2) If recorded, the identified source of the smoke nuisance complaints (e.g., wood burners, bonfires, barbecues, grills, industrial sources, agricultural activities, or other specified sources).
3) Any available data on enforcement actions or resolutions taken in response to these complaints.
4) Whether your local authority has issued any public guidance, restrictions, or policy changes related to smoke nuisances in recent years.
5) Has the local authority received any complaints specifically citing health concerns (e.g., respiratory issues, aggravation of asthma, or other medical conditions) due to smoke nuisance?
a) If so, what was the cause of the smoke nuisance noted? (e.g., wood burners, bonfires, barbecues, grills, industrial sources, agricultural activities, or other specified sources).
Response
I request information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 regarding complaints about smoke nuisance within your local authority. Please could you provide the following data:
1) The number of complaints received about smoke nuisance in the last 10 years (please provide a year-by-year breakdown from 2015 to 2025.)
2) If recorded, the identified source of the smoke nuisance complaints (e.g., wood burners, bonfires, barbecues, grills, industrial sources, agricultural activities, or other specified sources).
3) Any available data on enforcement actions or resolutions taken in response to these complaints.
4) Whether your local authority has issued any public guidance, restrictions, or policy changes related to smoke nuisances in recent years.
5) Has the local authority received any complaints specifically citing health concerns (e.g., respiratory issues, aggravation of asthma, or other medical conditions) due to smoke nuisance?
a) If so, what was the cause of the smoke nuisance noted? (e.g., wood burners, bonfires, barbecues, grills, industrial sources, agricultural activities, or other specified sources).
Answer: The information for questions 3 and 5a is not held in a form that would enable it to be located, retrieved and extracted within the Appropriate Time Limit which equates to 18 hours as defined by the Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limits and Fees) Regulations 2004.
Our electronic reporting systems are unable to run a report for this information. To ascertain the data requested, officers would need to manually check individual files for this information. An initial search has shown that 1,451 files would need to be checked for this information, and it is estimated that it would take 30 minutes to check each file. Once the details had been identified this would need to be noted and once all files had been checked in this way, the total figures requested could be calculated.
This would at a conservative estimate take at least 725 hours to complete. Where the Limit is exceeded Public Authorities are not obliged to supply the information requested by virtue of S12 of the Act. Please take this letter as a refusal notice under S17 of the Act.
However, within the 18 hour limit, we can provide answers for questions 1, 2, 4 and 5 as requested. Please advise us if this is something you require.
Documents
This is Herefordshire Council's response to a freedom of information (FOI) or environmental information regulations (EIR) request.
You can browse our other responses or make a new FOI request.