The idea of Statutory Nuisance was developed in
the 19th century as a means of dealing quickly and efficiently with
unpleasant and often unhealthy conditions which arose largely as a
result of the rapid growth of our towns and cities. Additional
categories of Statutory Nuisance (eg noise) have been introduced by
more recent law, and for a fuller understanding of the idea it is
necessary to look at court decisions (known as "case law") over
many years which have set legal precedents.
Staff in the Council's Environmental Health
Environment Team rely on their training and experience in deciding
whether a Statutory Nuisance exists or is likely to occur. This
decision, amongst many other factors is based on the nature,
severity, frequency and duration of the nuisance. The authorised
inspector's opinion is occasionally supplemented by evidence from
residents and other people affected by the nuisance as well as
technical measurements or physical evidence where appropriate. In
order to ensure consistency authorised inspectors follow procedures
for investigating statutory nuisances.Many factors need to be taken
into account, and the special circumstances of each case must be
carefully considered. Some issues are very important to this
decision:-
Environmental Health are unable to take
formal legal action purely on the basis of complaints received and
in most circumstances it will be necessary for an officer to
witness a Statutory Nuisance before being able to deal with it. It
may also be necessary to take measurements and to carry out
monitoring.
In order to make efficient use of staff time a
maximum of three visits will be made at appropriate times in order
to investigate a possible Statutory Nuisance, or in appropriate
cases noise monitoring/recording equipment may be installed at a
complainant's home. Where an officer is unable to witness a
nuisance or is of the opinion that it does not amount to a
Statutory Nuisance, an individual still has the right to make to
make a complaint direct to a magistrate's court under Section 82 of
the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
Statutory nuisance is a
criminal offence and is the statue version of the common law tort
of nuisance. As a criminal matter, all statutory nuisance
investigations are required to be carried out with good evidence
collecting procedures, normally in accordance with the procedures
under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984. By their nature
statutory nuisances are serious ones that tend to affect a
community and therefore need to be dealt with by the council for
the benefit of the community.
Where a statutory nuisance is
proven the council are obliged to serve an abatement notice
requiring the abatement (stopping) of the nuisance. Failure to
comply with such a notice can lead to fines of up to £20,000 per
incident of non compliance.
Statutory nuisance is defined under section 79 of the
Environmental Protection Act 1990 (as amended by subsequent
legislation) and is limited to those nuisances listed
below:
a) any premises in such a state as to be prejudicial to health or a
nuisance;
b) smoke emitted from premises so as to be prejudicial to health or
a nuisance;
c) fumes or gases emitted from premises so as to be
prejudicial to health or a nuisance;
d) any dust, steam, smell or other effluvia arising on industrial,
trade or business premises and being prejudicial to health or a
nuisance;
e) any accumulation or deposit which is prejudicial to health or a
nuisance;
f) any animal kept in such a place or manner as to be
prejudicial to health or a nuisance;
(fa) any insects emanating from
relevant industrial, trade or business premises and being
prejudicial to health or a nuisance;
(fb) artificial light emitted from
premises so as to be prejudicial
to health or a nuisance;
g) noise emitted from premises so as to be prejudicial to health or
a nuisance;
h) any other matter declared by any enactment to be a
statutory nuisance;these include:
- any well, tank, cistern or water butt
used for the supply of water for domestic purposes which is so
placed, constructed or kept in a way that makes the water liable to
contamination and prejudicial to health (Public Health
Act 1936 section 141)
- any pond, pool, ditch, gutter or watercourse
which is so foul or in such a state that it is prejudicial to
health or a nuisance (Public Health Act1936 section 259(1)(a))
- any part of a watercourse, which is not
ordinarily navigated by vessels used to carry goods by water, which
is so choked or silted up that it obstructs or prevents the proper
flow of water and as a result causes a nuisance or creates
conditions which are prejudicial to health (Public Health Act1936
section. 259(1)(b))
- a tent, van, shed or similar structure used
for human habitation which is in such a state, or so overcrowded,
as to be harmful to the health of the people living in it, or the
use of which, because of the absence of proper sanitary
accommodation, or otherwise, can create whether on the site or on
other land, a nuisance or to conditions which are prejudicial to
health (Public Health Act1936 section 268(2))
- a shaft or outlet of an abandoned or
disused mine where: it is not properly secured in order to prevent
people accidentally entering the outlet; or because it is
accessible from a road or public place it constitutes a danger to
the public (Mines and Quarries Act 1954 section. 151)
- a quarry that does not have an efficient and
properly maintained barrier designed and built to prevent people
from accidentally falling into it and because it is accessible from
a road or public place, amounts to a danger to the public (Mines
and Quarries Act 1954 section 151)
All other nuisances fall within the civil law tort of nuisance
and are not normally dealt with by the council.
Prejudicial to Health
Part of statutory nuisance law deals with issues that are
prejudicial to human health. In such circumstances statutory
nuisance law empowers the council (and its officers) to take
immediate action to deal with a nuisance that is prejudicial to
health. Legal precedents have established the principle that
"prejudicial to health" must mean that which is "likely to cause
disease", and clearly this is not the same as that which perhaps
most of us would regard as unhealthy.
The major limitation of statutory nuisance is that it is
normally based on 'premises'. To be an statutory nuisance one of
the 'nuisances' (a-g above) has to be in one premises and affect
persons in another premises; hence a statutory nuisance normally
has to affect you in your home. The one exception is that noise
from stationary vehicles and machinery in the street can now, to
some extent at least, be controlled.
Works In Default
The legislation also enables the council to take action to abate
(stop) the nuisance, where it deems this necessary. Typically this
can be done by using a range of powers available to the council.
For example, an inspector might legally seize a stereo system -
preventing its continued use, or call in an engineer to turn off a
malfunctioning alarm. In almost all cases, the person responsible
for the nuisance has to pay any bills for the work carried out.