When is a very occasional bonfire a statutory nuisance -case law examples needed

[mugwump083]

I have one of those absurd idiot 'nuisance neighbours" who appear to be slightly mentally defective & have nothing better to do than make very unreasonable complaints, usually accompanied by abuse. This one inhabits a house about 150 yards from my allotment. I light a small bonfire burning only wood pruned from fruit trees & brambles & other similarly compost unfriendly items about three times a year.

Every time a bonfire is lit this idiot threatens to make complaints to the council, call the fire brigade & more. Even when a fire might briefly produce a lot of smoke, it is brief & is so dispersed by the time it is more than a few yards from the actual fire, there is no possibility of the smoke being capable of being a nuisance in any meaningful way to anyone.

But, you can smell smoke, so this moron takes that as evidence that this must be grounds for complaint as in his view any bonfire is unnecessary & he claims the fact he can smell it proves it is causing respiratory damage. At no time are any plastics or items other than ordinary organic garden waste burned.


Unfortunately this fool has terrorised the management of the 200 odd allotments site into believing bonfires are evil and so they have been completely banned from April to October & are only allowed in the winter months. But that did not stop an allotment management person ordering me in a spectacularly abusive manner to put this fire out during the allowed bonfire period, egged on by the moronic householder from hell hurling pig ignorant abuse. Many other allotment holders are equally unhappy with the attitude of the two managers running the allotment site who seem to have a talent for being dictatorial, rude & generally unpleasant to the allotment holders.


I know there is no statutory nuisance being caused in this case , but I am looking for cases of complaint about ordinary bonfires being brought before the courts to discover what the courts have said about ordinary bonfires not causing a statutory nuisance and consequently dismissing those cases and also what the courts say about those cases of ordinary bonfires which are only burning organic garden waste and no pollutants such as oil or plastic, but which perhaps are very frequent or for some other reason the courts decide ARE a statutory nuisance and rule they are a statutory nuisance.

If I had a small number of both types of cases I could then educate the management of the allotments accordingly as well as (hopefully) the idiot complainant thus saving me the bother of me having to take out legal proceedings to curb the obnoxious behaviour of both the allotment managers & the idiot mentally retarded complainant who has actually caused a lot of grief to the whole allotment site.

[echat11]

Hi Mug

This might help, Bailii best source -

https://www.bailii.org/cgi-bin/forma...+AND+(nuisance)

[atticus]

If there are 200 allotment holders, are you sure that it is just your 3 fires each year that upset this neighbour?

Perhaps it is not he who should be described in the pejorative and judgmental terms you have used.

[echat11]

Maybe a bit of 'lateral' thinking, get some quotes for waste clearance, then as an example, if you all (200) put £10 in for the waste clearance weekly or monthly, throughout the year, problem solved. That is what I would do.

[mugwump083]

If there are 200 allotment holders, are you sure that it is just your 3 fires each year that upset this neighbour?

Perhaps it is not he who should be described in the pejorative and judgmental terms you have used.

Yes it is because all the plot holders are fed up with both the management & the idiot complaining who obviously has some sort of mental deficiency.

[Scot22]

If 'all' of the plot holders are fed up why haven't they done something about it ? Legal expenses shared between 200 are not prohibitive.
Your use of abusive language is counter productive. It is not conducive to coming to any agreement.

[mugwump083]

Hi Mug

This might help, Bailii best source -

https://www.bailii.org/cgi-bin/forma...+AND+(nuisance)

Thanks for that very informative link Echat. I've had a quick look & it seems a quite bizarre judgement which indicates that any smoke anywhere is a health hazard & hazardous. It cannot be a correct judgement as fires - bonfires, barbecues etc -are lawful UNLESS they can be viewed as a STATUTORY NUISANCE. So any small fire burning wood is OK but when nasty plastics or oil etc are added to it it is very likely ONLY THEN a statutory nuisance as burning non organic matter like plastics etc produce toxins while organic matter does not or at least the 'toxins' are so minor as to be inconsequential and not injurious to health.

In the link you posted the judgement does mention non organic matter, plastics or similar WERE burned on that fire which is probably why there was a judgement against it. But there doesn't seem to be any mention that that was the specific reason the fire was unlawful. If the fire was not burning non organic waste or plastics etc, then it seem it would be lawful unless there was evidence showing it to be excessively large, excessively smoky or too frequent & provably & obviously 'injurious to health'. As it was in a builder's yard it seems it might have been a regular occurrence and often too large.

What I need to find is similar legal squabbles about very ordinary garden (or allotment) bonfires only burning gardening vegetation . A court should find them lawful unless they are too frequent, too excessive or if plastics etc are added to make them become noxious.

Are you able to tell me how to find case law as I am clueless as not a lawyer.

[mugwump083]

If 'all' of the plot holders are fed up why haven't they done something about it ? Legal expenses shared between 200 are not prohibitive.
Your use of abusive language is counter productive. It is not conducive to coming to any agreement.

My use of perjorative language here is a direct result of the appalling behaviour of the two people managing the allotment site and the extraordinary abuse I experienced from one of them a few days ago.. They have caused great unrest and there has to be a starting point for people to get together to deal with something & this might be that starting point for all those plot holders to get together. The fact it hasn't waster who so commonly haunts all social media with a view to picking futile arguments as they have nothing better to do with their lives.

[Scot22]

Who is supposed to be picking futile arguments ?
If it's directed at me, I made a positive suggestion. I also believe communication should be respectful and courteous and made a comment.
I only contribute to threads where people will be polite and open. It is usually useful to have different perspectives. Leaving the thread.
Hope your problem will be swiftly resolved.

[echat11]

Thanks for that very informative link Echat. I've had a quick look & it seems a quite bizarre judgement which indicates that any smoke anywhere is a health hazard & hazardous. It cannot be a correct judgement as fires - bonfires, barbecues etc -are lawful UNLESS they can be viewed as a STATUTORY NUISANCE. So any small fire burning wood is OK but when nasty plastics or oil etc are added to it it is very likely ONLY THEN a statutory nuisance as burning non organic matter like plastics etc produce toxins while organic matter does not or at least the 'toxins' are so minor as to be inconsequential and not injurious to health.

In the link you posted the judgement does mention non organic matter, plastics or similar WERE burned on that fire which is probably why there was a judgement against it. But there doesn't seem to be any mention that that was the specific reason the fire was unlawful. If the fire was not burning non organic waste or plastics etc, then it seem it would be lawful unless there was evidence showing it to be excessively large, excessively smoky or too frequent & provably & obviously 'injurious to health'. As it was in a builder's yard it seems it might have been a regular occurrence and often too large.

What I need to find is similar legal squabbles about very ordinary garden (or allotment) bonfires only burning gardening vegetation . A court should find them lawful unless they are too frequent, too excessive or if plastics etc are added to make them become noxious.

Are you able to tell me how to find case law as I am clueless as not a lawyer.

What you could do is contact your local council, they should have a legal department who deal with this type of matter and are versed in cases that are similar to yours. They'll be up with the case law.

[atticus]

Yes it is because all the plot holders are fed up with both the management & the idiot complaining who obviously has some sort of mental deficiency.

Sorry, but that kind of language tends to reflect poorly on the person using it.

[mugwump083]

Sorry, but that kind of language tends to reflect poorly on the person using it.

You are engaging in censorship of a reasonable word (idiot) which accurately describes the sort of person who is a serial nuisance. Were you brought up in some idiotic dictatorship like Russia where extreme censorship is rampant ? This if a free country where we can freely express our opinions without idiots trying to be extremely politically correct. It is an utter nonsense.

Your sort of behaviour is vastly more offensive than using the word idiot in the abstract manner I used, where it isn't really offensive to anyone at all who is normal - not even the person I'm referring to as it does not identify them.

So what sort of person does this make you ? Could it be something a very descriptive word might be appropriate to describe ?

[atticus]

"Idiot" is pejorative and judgmental, as are "mentally deficient" and "moron", some of the other words and phrases that you have chosen to use to describe this complainant. Suggesting that you would do better to use temperate language is not censorship: nobody is suggesting that you should not seek advice.

Goodbye.

[echat11]

As I said the Council's legal department is best placed to advise on cases, they are the sort of queries they like. I often use the resources of other Councils that way I know I'm getting the correct information. Just send off an email.

[Celestine]

The law is imperfect and although your bonfires are not unlawful, you don't have a legal issue here, you have a set of bad personality clashes and management of an allotment who 'just want an easy life'. Citing case law at them will not solve the issue, it will probably escalate it. Sometimes you win battles with sharp wit and compromise. I have no doubt the householder you describe probably is an idiot but the reason multiple users pulled you up on your fairly aggressive tone is because we have years of experience between us and can predict how this tone may impact your ability to resolve this matter peacefully and protect your own welfare. It is unwise to assume that LB volunteers are keyboard warriors....they are keyboard heroes and you would be wise to take on board at least some of their suggestions.
Case law on minor county court claims is not recorded or published, I would be surprised if the case law you seek exists.