Are these legal? In one of the gardens abutting ours (either on London Road or Honour Oak Road) someone keeps starting bonfires regularly presumably to burn of their garden waste. The wind keeps blowing the smoke into our house so can’t open any windows. It starts quite early in the morning and goes on for several hours. Is there anything the council can do about this, surely it is causing local pollution.
Hi @divya_m. It is legal to have a bonfire in your garden, unless they are burning waste which produces dark smoke e.g. plastic (see Lewisham council’s page here: https://lewisham.gov.uk/myservices/environment/air-pollution/rules-for-chimneys--bonfires-and-open-fires)
If the bonfires are very regular and causing significant interference you can report them to Lewisham Council under the rules of it being a statutory nuisance i.e a) it interferes with someone’s right to enjoy their home or b) is damaging to someone’s health.There are some rules about this, you can read more here: https://lewisham.gov.uk/myservices/environment/noise/noise-and-other-disturbances-we-investigate
In the first instance I would expect they would ask you to follow the same guidance as for noise nuisance, which is to try speaking to your neighbours first, as they might not realise the impact it’s having on you. You will also need to pinpoint which neighbour is causing the problem before you can report it. Good luck!
Thank you very much Kat. I have just gone around and knocked on doors to identify which house it is. Unfortunately, it seems like the house is being refurbished and they are burning household waste :-(.