industrial uint causing air polution ?

gazpacho_uk

Apologies firstly if I have posted this in the wrong section, I wasn’t sure where to put it!
This is in regards to industrial air pollution close to our home.
We moved into a new build property in 2009, which was built by Bloor Homes in 2008. Although we were aware of a industrial unit close by, we were never made aware of what the business was by Bloor at the time of purchase and were told that that they do no operate at weekends. On visits to the site at weekends and sometimes in the weekday afternoons, we had no concerns regarding the nearby industrial unit.
It has become clear since our purchase that the industrial unit is in fact a company who have involvment in brick making. They basically bring in old bricks/concrete and render it to dust.
On a daily basis (including weekends), there is a continuous dust cloud in the area which has become a health concern as children playing outside often complain of dust in their eyes. I am guessing there is probably a respiratory issue here too.
Not only is there health concerns, we cannot put washing out in te garden as it soon becomes covered in dust. Cars can never be spotless as as soon as they have been washed, they attract the dust. I grow vegetables and have noticed the dust on the plants, so there could be a health risk here too.
I am putting a letter together to my local environmental health office and have wrote here on MSE to see if anyone can offer any advice in this matter. I don’t know if I have a case or what even I can do about it. The industrial unit was here many years before the housing development and probably didn’t have any pollution issues, but now people are living close by, this is becoming a serious problem.

Any help or advise is much appreciated

Thanks

John

27col

What's your complaint. They were there first, if you didn't understand the size of the problem before buying, then it's down to lack of research on your part.

gazpacho_uk

Thajk you for your comment, I dont think its quite as "black and white" as that. There are health issues that the builder should have considered prior to building there, or even there is a responsibility of the council when they are aware of the activities that are ongoing in the area.

keystone

Actually it is as black and white as that.

When your solicitor/conveyancer did the local searches for you industrial units such as this would have popped up in the search and you would have been alerted to their existence.

You may have some comeback against your solicitor/conveyancer if that did not happen.

I do not see how you can hold the builder responsible for one solitary microsecond unless he forced you to sign the purchase paperwork at gunpoint.

Environmental health is your only option but it seems from the way you post that this has only recently become a problem as you have apparently lived with it for a minimum of 18 months without prior complaint.

Cheers

Fortune82

It doesn't matter how long the unit has been there, or how long the permitted planning use has been going on. A nuisance is a nuisance and will be treated by the Environmental Health Department as such. Don't bother with a lengthy letter that will get ignored, ring them up - they'll usually be happy to help and if not pester them on the phone and get your local councillor involved.

I wouldn't bother going after Bloors or your lawyer because you'll just get stonewalled.

keystone

Fortune82 wrote: »

It doesn't matter how long the unit has been there, or how long the permitted planning use has been going on. A nuisance is a nuisance and will be treated by the Environmental Health Department as such.

Quite.

Don't bother with a lengthy letter that will get ignored, ring them up - they'll usually be happy to help and if not pester them on the phone and get your local councillor involved.

Phone calls get forgotten. OP should write.

I wouldn't bother going after Bloors ............ because you'll just get stonewalled.

Agreed as Ops "complaint" isn't their responsibility anyway.

.......or your lawyer..........

Well if they were negiligent in the searches then there would be a case but the chances are that the OP has not read the output propoerly in any case.

Cheers

iamcornholio

27col wrote: »

What's your complaint. They were there first, if you didn't understand the size of the problem before buying, then it's down to lack of research on your part.

It does not work like that (although it should)

Consider all the new inner city "apartments" (ie flats) and conversions being built in centre of towns.

We have a situation now where all these new residents are now complaining about noise from existing pubs and clubs and nearby industrial units, and the local council is going around slapping noise abatement orders on them - causing businesses to move, close or spend £000's on noise reduction measures. All to satisfy numpties who have decided to move next to these places

Pubs with live venues that have been there for years have had to stop or significantly limit what goes on

That's good old English law for you

keystone

iamcornholio wrote: »

All to satisfy numpties who have decided to move next to these places

I think thats what he was driving at.

That's good old English law for you

Its the gross stupidity of the jobsworths in the council who choose to interpret the law to their own best advantage rather than the law itself.

Cheers

gazpacho_uk

Fortune82 wrote: »

It doesn't matter how long the unit has been there, or how long the permitted planning use has been going on. A nuisance is a nuisance and will be treated by the Environmental Health Department as such. Don't bother with a lengthy letter that will get ignored, ring them up - they'll usually be happy to help and if not pester them on the phone and get your local councillor involved.

I wouldn't bother going after Bloors or your lawyer because you'll just get stonewalled.

I called local EHO yesterday and I am the 9th person to make a complaint within the last two weeks. It seems that the industrial unit has changed the way it goes about its processes which has causesed the recent issues. I was informed by the EHO that they are in discussions with the owner to resolve the problems.

Thanks

gazpacho_uk

Fortune82 wrote: »

It doesn't matter how long the unit has been there, or how long the permitted planning use has been going on. A nuisance is a nuisance and will be treated by the Environmental Health Department as such. Don't bother with a lengthy letter that will get ignored, ring them up - they'll usually be happy to help and if not pester them on the phone and get your local councillor involved.

I wouldn't bother going after Bloors or your lawyer because you'll just get stonewalled.

another update: The EHO has given me a call back this morning and informed me that the owner of the industrial unit has recently started using their carpark area to break up the bricks and cement for porcessing at their plant. The carpark is directly behind the housing development,w here as previously the work was carried out at the other end of the premises which has a large building and tall trees (apparently they were planted many years ago to stop teh dust heading over towards other housing in the area). The EHO has told them that they must return their operations to that area as this is stated within a planning policy.

Thanks again fortune82

markdavey

gazpacho_uk wrote: »

I called local EHO yesterday and I am the 9th person to make a complaint within the last two weeks. It seems that the industrial unit has changed the way it goes about its processes which has causesed the recent issues. I was informed by the EHO that they are in discussions with the owner to resolve the problems.

Thanks

Don't for one minute think that this will get resolved quickly because the EHO are 'discussing' with the owner ways to resolve the problems. I fought a case on behalf of my mother-in-law regarding a sound nuisance behind her property.

It took 2 years and many chasing calls to the EHO to finally get them to take the problem seriously. Even then the problem was not directly resolved by the EHO but by the planning team (as the proprietor had changed the use of the units to one that he did not have planning permission for) we had the subsequent, forced, planning application refused and he had to close the business. In my experience the EHO do not have the necessary balls to confront offenders properly.

You WILL need to keep on top of the EHO if you want a resolution just don't expect a speedy one.