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Section 16 Abatement of smoke nuisances.F1C1

England, Wales and Scotland

(1)

Smoke other than—

(a)

smoke emitted from a chimney of a private dwelling; or

(b)

dark smoke emitted from a chimney of a building or from a chimney serving the furnace of a boiler or industrial plant attached to a building or for the time being fixed to or installed on any land,

(F2c)

dark smoke emitted otherwise than as aforesaid from industrial or trade premises within the meaning of section 1 of the M1Clear Air Act 1968

shall, if it is a nuisance to the inhabitants of the neighbourhood, be deemed for the purposes of Part III of the M2Public Health Act 1936, to be statutory nuisance, and section one hundred and nine of that Act (which contains a saving from the operation of the said Part III for mines and industrial processes) shall not apply in relation to it:

Provided that, in any proceedings brought by virtue of this section—

  1. (i)

    . . . F3

  2. (ii)

    in the case of smoke emitted from a chimney, it shall be a defence for the defendant to prove that the best practicable means had been employed to prevent the nuisance.

(2)

If the local authority are satisfied that such a nuisance as is mentioned in subsection (1) of this section has occurred and, although it has ceased, is likely to recur, they may, without serving an abatement notice, cause a complaint to be made to a justice of the peace, and a magistrates’ court shall have power on that complaint to make an order on any person by reason of whose act, default or sufferance the nuisance arose prohibiting a recurrence of the nuisance and requiring him, within a time specified in the order, to execute any works necessary to prevent a recurrence; and the provisions of Part III of the M3Public Health Act 1936, shall, with the necessary adaptations and modifications, apply in relation to proceedings under this subsection and orders made thereunder as they apply to proceedings under the said Part III and nuisance orders made thereunder.

(3)

In the application of this section to Scotland—

(a)

in subsection (1), the words from “and section one hundred and nine of that Act” to “shall not apply in relation to it” and subsection (2) shall be omitted.

(b)

for references to Part III of the M4Public Health Act 1936, and to a statutory nuisance there shall be substituted respectively references to the M5Public Health (Scotland) Act 1897, and to a nuisance liable to be dealt with summarily in manner provided by that Act;

(c)

for any reference to a nuisance order there shall be substituted a reference to a decree for the removal or remedy or discontinuance or interdict of a nuisance granted under section twenty-two or twenty-three of the said Act of 1897; and

(d)

for any reference to a defendant there shall be substituted a reference to a person against whom proceedings are taken for contravention of any such decree or interdict as as aforesaid.

Annotations

Textual amendments

F1

S. 16 repealed (E.W.) by Environmental Protection Act 1990 (c. 43, SIF 46:4), s. 162(2), Sch. 16 Pt. III

F2

Words added by Clean Air Act 1968 (c. 62), Sch. 1 para. 5

F3

S. 16(1) proviso (i) repealed by Control of Pollution Act 1974 (c. 40), Sch. 4

Marginal citations

M1

1968 c. 62.

M2

1936 c. 49.

M3

1936 c. 49.

M4

1936 c. 49.

M5

1897 c. 38.

Modifications

C1

S. 16 Amended by Radioactive Substances Act 1960 (c. 34), s. 9, Sch. 1 para. 8; excluded by Clean Air Act 1968 (c. 62), s. 11(1)

Notes on the whole Act

Textual amendments

F1

Act repealed (27.8.1993) by 1993 c. 11, ss. 67(3), 68(2), Sch.6.