Statutory Nuisance
Bedford Borough Council has a duty under the Environmental
Protection Act 1990 to take reasonable and practicable steps to
investigate complaints received about statutory nuisance made by
someone resident in the Borough.
A statutory nuisance is more than just an annoyance or
irritation. Whilst there is no strict definition of statutory
nuisance, it is generally defined as a disturbance that materially
interferes with a persons right to enjoy their home.
A Statutory Nuisance can be caused by:
- Noise
- Odour
- Smoke
- Artificial Light
- Insects
- premises in such a state to be prejudicial to health or a
nuisance
- fumes or gases emitted from a premises so as to be prejudicial
to health or a nuisance
- dust, steam, smell or effluvia so as to be prejudicial to
health or a nuisance
- animals kept in such a place or manner so as to be prejudicial
to health or a nuisance
The work of Environmental Health & Trading Standards is
undertaken with 'Better Regulation' principles in mind and is
reflected in our enforcement policy which is in line with the
Regulatory Enforcement Compliance Code. There is a statutory
obligation placed on all regulators to apply the following
principles:
- Accountability – activities
should be open to public scrutiny, with clear and accessible
policies, and fair and efficient complaints procedures in
place.
- Targeted – resources should be
focussed on high-risk enterprises, reflecting local need and
national priorities.
- Proportionality – enforcement
action should reflect the level of risk to the public and the
penalty should relate to the seriousness of the
offence.
- Consistency – advice to business
should be reliable and robust and applicable in different parts of
the country. Services should operate in similar
circumstances.
- Transparency – businesses should
be able to understand what is expected from them by local
regulators and what they can anticipate in return
For more information about the Enforcement Policy followed
by Environmental Health & Trading Standards, please click the
link below.
Enforcement
Policy