This web blog focuses on the Policy and Law exam taken on the 20th January 2009. The exam itself focused on the topics of sources of English law, public law, private law, negligence, and statutory nuisance. I feel that the exam itself went well although I believe that I could work on structuring my answers a little more clearly.
This blog looks at section two of the exam which was on statutory nuisance.
What is statutory nuisance?
Statutory nuisance is defined in the Environmental Protection act 1990 as “the unacceptable interference with the personal comfort or amenity of neighbours or the nearby community”. This act of parliament is essentially environmental health protection and is designed to bring a swift closure to any environmental health or nuisance issues that may arise in a community.
Examples of a nuisance is loud noises emitted from premises which could be damaging to health or a nuisance, gaseous emissions from business premises or a build up of refuge from a neighbouring property.
This pile of rubbish could count as a statutory nuisance if it is left to build up over a long period of time causing potential health issues.It should be noted that noise from aviation is excluded from being a statutory nuisance.
What are the control mechanisms for statutory nuisance?
If you believe that there is a nuisance taking place, that directly affects you then the following steps should be taken.
1. Make notes of times, durations and frequency of the nuisance.
2. Call your local Environmental Health officer at your local authority. In the case of Falmouth this is Carrick District Council and the number is 01872 224400. The Environmental Health Officer has a legal obligation to look into your complaint.
3. The Environmental Health Officer will assess the situation and if it is deemed a nuisance then they will issue a formal notice to the person/business causing the nuisance giving them 21 days for the nuisance to cease.
4. If the 21 days has lapsed and the nuisance has not ceased then an abatement notice will be issued. This is simply a legal order to stop. The abatement notice stands for a further 21 days in which time the person/ business has the right to appeal against it.
5. If this is not complied with then this is a criminal offence and fine will be issued which is up to £20,000 for a business and up to £5,000 for an individual plus £500 per day thereafter.
6. If the abatement notice is not affective then the local authority can take this to the High Court and apply for an injunction. If an injunction is breached then there is a prison sentence of up to 2 years and an unlimited fine.
If you believe that the local authority would not deal with the complaint correctly then you can go straight to the magistrates’ court for an abatement notice provided that you have given notice to the intended defendant and have evidence of the nuisance.
How can Statutory Nuisance help the environmental activist?
Essentially the Environmental protection act is designed to protect human health. It also however inadvertently protects the natural environment. This means that if an environmental activist spots a nuisance which is harmful to the environment and directly effects themselves as well, then they can use the legislation to promote a swift end to the nuisance. An example of this would be water pollution or smoke emissions from a factory.
In order to make full use of this legislation then the environmental activist would have to have a good working knowledge of the system and contacts in their local area so that the procedures could run as quickly and efficiently as possible.
An example of this can be seen on the Council for Protection of Rural England website where the website reccomends looking at statutory nuisance for preventing noisy motorbike scrambles on local agricultural land.
