Bonfires can be considered a nuisance if it affects people or property. It can cause harm and can be unpleasant if the smoke is dark. Although it is not against the law to have the occasional bonfire, it could be intrusive and dangerous.
When we receive a complaint, we'll investigate it to decide if it's a statutory nuisance. It's very important that you give the correct address of where the bonfire is coming from. If a statutory nuisance is found, we must serve an abatement notice on the source of the problem. This requires the bonfire to be stopped or reduced.
Sometimes we may serve a notice and the bonfire will continue. In these cases, we consider prosecuting the source. Prosecutions for a domestic bonfire or smoke are rare. If this happens, you may have to give evidence in court about how the bonfire or smoke affects you.
You can contact the Environmental Health team by calling 0161 474 4181 or emailing environmental.health@stockport.gov.uk.
Use our online form to make a bonfire nuisance complaint.