08 February 2012Smoke Control Areas
The Clean Air Acts were introduced to deal with the smogs of the 1950s and 1960s which were caused by the widespread burning of coal for domestic heating and industry. The 1956 and 1968 Acts gave local authorities powers to control emissions of dark smoke, grit, dust and fumes from industrial premises and furnaces and to declare “smoke control areas” in which emissions of smoke from domestic properties are banned. These Acts, together with other associated clean air legislation, were repealed and consolidated by the Clean Air Act 1993 which, together with regulations and Orders made under the Act, provide the current legislative controls.
Swanley and areas to the west and south of Crockenhill are included in the Sevenoaks District Council’s Smoke Control Area
Fuels authorised for use in Smoke Control Areas include inherently smokeless fuels such as gas, electricity and anthracite as well as branded manufactured solid smokeless fuel. These should be used in exempt appliances; however some appliances are exempt but only when used with specific fuels, rather than being capable of burning unauthorised or inherently smoky solid fuel without emitting smoke. Care needs to be taken to match the appliance with the correct fuel. Wood burning appliances can burn wood as logs, pellets, chips, briquettes or heat logs. Wood fuel is carbon neutral; it absorbs as much carbon dioxide in its growth as it releases when it is burnt. For this reason, the installation of wood fuel appliances is generally treated more favourably in Building Regulations. However, care must still be taken to ensure that the stove you intend to use is properly installed and maintained.
Whilst it is an immediate offence to emit smoke from:
a chimney of a building or
a chimney of a furnace of any fixed boiler or industrial plant
within the smoke control area, it has to be witnessed by an Environmental Health Practitioner.
A person guilty of an offence is liable, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale (currently £1000).
It is an offence to purchase or acquire an ‘unauthorised fuel’ within a smoke control area unless it is for use within an appropriate exempted appliance.
It is also an offence to sell an ‘unauthorised fuel’ to a resident or individual for use within a smoke control area.
(Please note that Sevenoaks District Council is not responsible for the content of third party websites).
You can contact The Environmental Protection Team on 01732 227000, or via email environmental.protection@sevenoaks.gov.uk
