Welcome to Preston City councils smoke and bonfires web page. This section covers environmental complaints concerning Smoke from chimneys and bonfires from domestic and commercial premises.
If you are concerned about smoke from a building or smoke causing poor visibility on a highway, contact the Fire Service and Police.
Smoke from bonfires
Burning waste on commercial premises is usually an offence, with the exception of certain specific materials. Commercial premises burning controlled waste is a waste management offence. To report an incident of trade waste being burned contact the Environment Agency.
There is no law which prohibits garden bonfires or specifies times of day fires can be lit, however in built up areas it can be difficult to have a bonfire without causing a nuisance. The council provides a service for collecting garden waste; therefore it is usually not necessary to have a bonfire. If you are planning on having a garden bonfire, ensure they are kept to a minimum and only burn dry materials such as wood and green waste.
The Environment Agency have information on garden bonfires.
We can investigate incidents where smoke from one premises directly affects another person in their premises.
Dark smoke from bonfires
This applies only to dark smoke from bonfires on trade or industrial premises. It is an offence to burn waste, such as rubber and painted/treated wood, which create dark smoke emissions. We will investigate incidents of dark smoke from burning waste.
If you would like to make a complaint, contact us on 01772 906907.
Smoke from chimneys
Smoke control areas
In order to improve local air quality certain areas of Preston have been designated Smoke Control Areas (SCA). This means it is an offence to burn any fuel in a fireplace unless it is a special smokeless fuel or the fireplace is specifically exempted by law. For information about smokeless fuels and exempted fireplaces why not visit www.uksmokecontrolareas.co.uk. New properties built within Smoke Control Areas are also covered by this legal requirement.
If you are not in a SCA it is strongly advised you use smokeless fuels in order to minimise emissions of smoke which may cause a nuisance to neighbouring premises.
Industrial Chimneys
It is an offence for dark smoke to be emitted from any chimney serving a furnace or boiler on trade or industrial premises. Dark smoke is usually caused by burning treated timber, plastics or rubber. Materials likely to give rise to dark smoke should be disposed of in an alternative manner rather than being used as a fuel. The Clean Air Acts do not apply to certain listed activities which are regulated under different legislation for more information view our Pollution Control page.
Chimney Heights
Approval for chimney heights applies only to commercial premises operating certain types of furnaces, boilers etc. For more information about the circumstances to apply please download Factsheet 36 at the base of this page.
To apply for chimney height approval, complete the Chimney Height Approval Form at the bottom of the page.
Document links
| Document downloads | File Size |
| Adobe Acrobat Reader is available FREE of charge. You can download it directly from Adobe's website by clicking the link to the right. Once on Adobe's website, follow the instructions on screen to install the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader. |  |
| Factsheet 36 - Control of Chimney Heights (PDF) | 109KB |
Date Updated: 21/05/09