The burning of any kind releases particulate matter (PM), which is harmful to health. Fine PM (PM2.5) is of particular concern, it can enter the bloodstream through the lungs, leading to reduced life expectancy and diseases like cardiovascular and respiratory issues, diabetes, dementia, and cancer.
All of Brent is a ‘smoke control area’ (SCA) under the Clean Air Act 1993. This is to control smoke emissions from chimneys of buildings, particularly from the burning of coal and wood, to protect human health. If you choose to burn wood or other solid fuels at home or in your business premises, you must comply with the Clean Air Act and smoke control regulations.
There are some exceptions, for example where:
the fuel is an ‘authorised fuel’, which is permitted to be used in a SCA
the fuel is being burnt in an ‘ exempted appliance’, where particular types of unauthorised fuels can be used
Does not apply to garden bonfires. However, we discourage people from having bonfires, as this may cause smoke nuisance to neighbours.
We have joined a group of 18 London boroughs on the London Wood burning project which aims to protect the health of people in London by raising awareness and improving understanding of the health impacts from domestic wood and other solid fuel burning.
If you do burn fuels, follow the Smoke Control Area Rules and consider Defra's Burn Better guidance to reduce pollution exposure.
To prevent harm to your and your neighbour’s health, there are laws about burning waste outdoors. You must not:
If you decide to have a bonfire, please follow the guidance below to reduce its impact:
You should use the online form to report nuisances that are not noise related.
We have launched our Community Champions programme for air quality which aims to recruit community volunteers to raise awareness of pollution and feed into the solutions.
