Light and air pollution

The Clean Air Act 1956 means all of Harrow has become a "smoke control area". This means that all fuel used in your home must be "smokeless" such as gas, electricity, oil or coke-type fuel.

What can I report?

You can report light nuisances such as light coming from leisure or commercial properties or construction sites. You can also report air pollution such as odour, smoke, fumes or dust

How can I report light or air pollution?

To submit a report online you will need to submit a diary sheet which is a document where you can record details of the issue(s) disturbing you.

It contains entries for the time, description and the effect the issue(s) has had on you and you will need to maintain a diary for two weeks or until it is full (whichever comes first).

The community safety team requires a diary sheet to be submitted before they can begin investigating the complaint.

What will I need to submit a report?

To report light or air pollution online you will need:

Begin report

Bonfires

It is illegal to emit smoke from your chimney by burning wood, ordinary coal, etc. However, this piece of law does not apply to outdoor bonfires.

Section 80 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 allows the Local Authority to take action possibly resulting in legal proceedings if a bonfire causes a nuisance to neighbours (i.e. have an unreasonable effect on enjoyment of their home or garden).

We do not recommend any garden bonfires, however, if you do have one it should consist of dry woody garden waste only, and consideration must be shown for neighbours, and not be on a regular basis. For more information you can download the domestic bonfires fact sheet.

Smog

For a daily forecast on the air quality in the UK, please visit London Air Quality Network website or the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) website.

Do you have heart or breathing problems?

Air pollution can harm your health. People with asthma, emphysema, bronchitis, heart disease and angina are more at risk from high levels of air pollution.

There is a free service called 'airTEXT' which can give advance warning of elevated pollution levels.

You can sign up for the service by visiting www.airtext.info