Light nuisance and air pollution

What is light nuisance?

  • Light nuisance can be lighting which is poorly directed or maintained. It is a light source that can harm a person's use of their property or their health. You can deal with most light nuisance and air quality problems by having a friendly word with your neighbour.

How you can avoid nuisance lighting

You can help avoid causing a light nuisance by:

  • Not fitting unnecessary lights.
  • Not using lights that are too bright. For example, 300-500 watt bulbs are too powerful for home security lights. A 9 watt compact fluorescent lamp is usually enough for a porch light that will be on all night.
  • Having a friendly word with your neighbour to ensure your lights are not causing a problem.
  • Using time or motion-controlled lighting. Ensure their alignment and installation are correct.

What you can do about light nuisance

Speaking to your neighbour may be difficult. But, they may not know they are causing a problem in the first place. You can suggest a few solutions to the problem:

  • ask if they can use a lower power bulb
  • ask if they can change the angle or shade the light
  • ask if they can use time or motion-controlled lighting.

Reporting light nuisance or air pollution

If the issue persists, you can contact us to see how we can help. You can report light nuisances from commercial properties and construction sites.

You can also report air pollution issues such as odour, smoke, fumes or dust.

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

You will need to maintain a diary for two weeks or until it is full (whichever comes first).

Our community safety team will need a diary sheet before they can investigate any complaint.

Report a light or odour nuisance

Bonfires

We do not recommend any garden bonfires. If you have one, it should be only dry, woody garden waste. Please consider your neighbours, and do not have them regularly.

It is illegal to emit smoke from your chimney by burning wood or coal. Section 80 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 states:

  • A local authority can act if a bonfire annoys neighbours. This is if it unreasonably affects their enjoyment of their home or garden. This may lead to legal action.

If you suffer from breathing issues, you can find out about airTEXT. This is a free service which can warn you in advance of elevated pollution levels. Sign up for the service at www.airtext.info.