Bonfires in the garden, legal or illegal?

After discussion with James about bonfires in another thread, he says that the lighting of a bonfire is illegal. Well I hadn't heard that to be the case in the South Oxfordshire District Council area and so looked it up. The following link clearly states that it is NOT illegal in Oxfordshire, but what about the area that you live in members?

See http://www.southoxon.gov.uk/ccm/navigation/advice--benefits-and-emergencies/air-quality--pollution-and-climate-change/air-pollution/bonfires/

Don't entirely agree with what you say Michael and if you read through the information in the link that I quoted I think you will agree it gives you a fair idea of what is acceptable/permissable, some of which you touch on.

The idea of the thread was to get members in different areas to check with their District Councils (as I did) and then post them here in the forum. I look forward to reading your Councils response in due course.

Here we are then Ron-

Nuisance from smoke or bonfires
Garden Bonfires

Smoking bonfire
The Environmental Protection Team is responsible for investigating complaints about smoke nuisance caused to the public by bonfires.
The Problem
Bonfires can be a nuisance - the smoke, smuts and smells they cause are the subject of many complaints to The Council. Smoke can ruin residents’ enjoyment of their property, preventing them from opening windows, hanging washing out and can prevent them enjoying being in their own garden.
Burning waste will produce the poisonous gas carbon monoxide as well as other toxic compounds. Many of these compounds can have damaging health effects, particularly in susceptible people - such as children, asthmatics, and those with heart and chest problems.
Even if the immediate health risk is small, your bonfire will add to the background level of air pollution. Weather conditions can make matters worse. If the air is still, particularly in the late afternoon or evening, smoke will linger in the air. On the other hand, if it is too windy, smoke may blow into neighbouring properties causing nuisance or across roads causing danger.
Don't forget that bonfires can be dangerous from a safety point of view - spreading fire to fences or buildings, scorching trees and plants. Piled rubbish for bonfires is often used as a refuse by animals - look out for hibernating hedgehogs and sleeping pets.
What you can do
Instead of having a bonfire, there are other, far less environmentally damaging methods of disposal.
Composting: Most garden and kitchen waste can be recycled into compost which will produce a useful soil conditioner, saving you money on commercial products
Recycling: In addition to this, if you are unable to compost at home, you can take your garden waste to the Household Waste Recycling Centres (throughout the borough. In addition to being able to deposit recyclable materials, Fylde residents can take any other household waste, free of charge, for safe and responsible disposal.
Household Waste Recycling Centres Locations
……….
Shredding: Woody waste can be shredded to make it suitable for composting or mulching; you can buy or hire shredders, but remember, they can be noisy - don't replace one nuisance with another!
The Legal Position
If done carefully, the occasional bonfire or barbecue should not cause a major problem, so an outright ban on bonfires would be unreasonable. However, under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, it is an offence to cause a statutory nuisance, and this can include nuisances created by bonfires.
To be considered a nuisance, the bonfire would have to be a regular problem and interfering substantially with your well-being, comfort or enjoyment of your property. If you are bothered by persistent bonfire smoke, you may wish to approach your neighbours: they may be genuinely unaware that their actions are affecting you.
However, you may feel unable to approach your neighbours, and you must consider your safety if you were to try this method. You should contact the Pollution Control Team on ………….and inform them of your concerns. In most cases letters are written to both parties and this is enough to resolve the problem.
Unfortunately, in some cases it does not end there and if the bonfires persist you should inform the officer dealing with your case. You should complete the monitoring form sent to you by the officer, to provide information to allow the officer to establish whether there is the occurrence of a nuisance. They may wish to visit to assess whether the bonfire is a statutory nuisance. If it is, an abatement notice may be served on your neighbours under Section 80 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. If the person then fails to comply with the notice, they may be prosecuted which upon conviction in a Magistrates Court gives rise to a maximum fine of £5000.
Commercial Bonfires
Bonfires on commercial or industrial premises are likely to cause smoke and odour nuisance in the same way as a domestic bonfire. This includes fires occurring on construction and demolition sites or during property or site renovation or repair.
In addition to causing nuisance, commercial fires are also restricted by The Clean Air Act 1993: Section 2 which prohibits dark smoke being emitted from an industrial or trade premise as a result of burning any matter. The emission of dark smoke is a strict offence and can be immediately prosecuted in the Magistrate's Court to a maximum of £5,000 per offence.
The maximum penalty for causing Statutory Nuisance from a trade premise is £20,000.
Waste produced during the course of normal business activity should be disposed of in an appropriate manner. Disposal by burning is not permissible and will be referred to the Environment Agency for investigation under the Waste Management Licensing Regulations 1994 relating to the disposal of trade waste.
Information regarding waste licensing can be obtained from the Environment Agency website at www.environment-agency.gov.uk.
The Pollution Control Section will investigate your complaint if you feel that someone may be causing a nuisance from smoke or bonfires.

 

Thank you for that Michael.

Therefore, a garden bonfire is not illegal (your EHO needs to brush up on the Law) but the following paragraph that I copied from your post sensibly confirms same:

The Legal Position

If done carefully, the occasional bonfire or barbecue should not cause a major problem, so an outright ban on bonfires would be unreasonable. However, under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, it is an offence to cause a statutory nuisance, and this can include nuisances created by bonfires. To be considered a nuisance, the bonfire would have to be a regular problem and interfering substantially with your well-being, comfort or enjoyment of your property.

Anybody else have views that relate to their particular area?

West Berkshire Council states-----There is no law against having a bonfire though it is an offence for the smoke, or the smell of the smoke, to cause a nuisance.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

I think it's illegal to burn here, Ron.  In some rural communities, the forest service even has to give smoke pollution warning days in advance when they do prescribed burns.  We also have no burn days for fireplaces.  We get those temperature inversions and the pollution can be quite bad.  We call it the brown cloud and if the air is very still and dry, it can hang around for days.  There have been nights where I've taken my dog for a walk around the neighborhood and come back into the house smelling like we'd been in front of a campfire, just from the smoke from people's fireplaces.