We carry out a wide range of duties and functions including air quality monitoring and management, dealing with neighbourhood nuisance including loud noise, obnoxious smells, dust and smoke.
Water
If you are concerned about pollution of a river or other watercourse, please report this to the Environment Agency on 0800 80 70 60 who will be able to investigate the incident. If you have a problem with your water supply your first point of contact should be your Water Provider. This is likely to be either Severn Trent or Yorkshire Water in our District.
Air
Please visit our main Air Pollution page.
Asbestos
Asbestos could be present in any building that was built or refurbished before the year 2000. It was commonly used in the building industry in the products such as:
- Corrugated sheets for roofing and cladding
- Gutters and downpipes
- Flat sheeting for partitioning, cladding and door facings
- Flue pipes.
Asbestos sheeting is a grey, hard, brittle material containing asbestos fibre. Older properties may have lagging that contains asbestos around any original pipework. Asbestos insulation board was commonly used in the 1960s and 1970s and looks like plasterboard, but is thinner and softer.
On no account should you disturb lagging or insulation board. Removal of asbestos must always be undertaken by specialist contractors.
Asbestos is classed as Hazardous Waste and requires a specialist contractor to collect and dispose of it. Before starting any work, you should seek advice as to how the material can be disposed of and how much it will cost. If you live in a council property, please see the Asbestos Advice page by the HSE.
Fly Tipped Asbestos
Because asbestos is classed as hazardous, if it is fly tipped on private property you will be advised to hire a private contractor who is licensed to remove such waste - please contact us via our fly tipping self service forms. If you see any hazardous waste being fly tipped please report this to us as soon as possible. If the asbestos waste is in a water course or in imminent danger of polluting the water course please contact the Environment Agency.
Land
Industrial activity throughout the UK has left us with the legacy of old derelict sites, many with problems of residual contamination. Some of these sites are potentially hazardous to human health, watercourses or other such sensitive receptors.
Legislation formed under Part IIa of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 was introduced in April 2000 to facilitate the identification and remediation of such sites. As part of this legislation, Local Authorities were given the responsibility of developing a strategy for inspecting their areas and identifying potentially harmful sites.
We are responsible for identifying and keeping a register of any contaminated sites in North East Derbyshire, and our Contaminated Land Strategy sets out how we do this.
At present, we don't have a register of contaminated land sites as there are no cases where formal action has been taken in North East Derbyshire that need to be classified as contaminated.
The Government has useful information on contaminated land.
Guidance documents:
Noise
Please visit our Noise Nuisance page for more information.
Smoke
Parts of North East Derbyshire District have been officially designated as controlled as a smoke control area. A map showing the extent of the smoke control areas can be found on the Defra website by following this link: Smoke Control Area Interactive Map (defra.gov.uk)
It is an offence to emit smoke from the chimney of a building in a designated smoke controlled area. It is also an offence to acquire an "unauthorised fuel" for use within a smoke controlled area unless it is in an exempt appliance.
In smoke control areas you can’t emit smoke from a chimney in a building unless your are burning an authorised fuel or using an exempt appliances. Chimneys could be from traditional open fireplaces, but also from appliances such as solid fuel stoves, furnaces and boilers. The smoke control area rules apply to all premises, including people's homes, businesses, hospitals and residential homes.
A list of authorised fuels is given here: Fuels - Defra, UK and exempt appliances here: Appliances - Defra, UK