£300 fine for smoke coming out of chimney

Whereabouts (roughly, not postcode!) do you live, gentleshores, and where did you hear that? It seems a bit harsh.

North East. I saw a newspaper report about it.

www.lancs.live/news/uk-world-news/every-house-chimney-england-faces-29918358

It’s the only thing that keeps our cold old house warmish.

This is a story which started in the Daily Express, but it’s not a new Act.

‘ According to Section 19 of the Clean Air Act 1993, a £300 penalty is applicable if your chimney releases excessive smoke. As stated by Direct Stoves: "The current limit on the amount of smoke your chimney can produce in a Smoke Control Area is 5g per hour, plus 0.5g for each kW of your stove's heat output. However, there are plans to reduce this limit to 3g per hour, although when this will happen is not yet confirmed."’

I can’t see that anything has actually changed for thirty years?

Seems a bit hard in a rural area.

what is the difference between an open outside fire and one in a house if they're both burning wood? There are no rules against bonfires are there? ... and now loads of rural homes have woodburning stoves... how would these alleged fines be carried out...

Good point.

Rural properties aren’t in smoke control areas pascal123, they are in urban areas.

You're right, it's just smoke control areas and we're not in one - just checked a map. I didn't enjoy our fire once we couldn't get coal any more though. Wood is smelly.

If you have a properly and safely maintained chimney and use safe, clean fuel there is not an issue. There are rules about bonfires around here too.

I mentioned this to our son who has a multi stove burner and he has been told if you live in the countryside it does not apply, only people with burners that live in the towns are affected.

Also they have also said that people who have paved drives will also be charged a percentage because they are causing flooding as there is no soil for the rain to soak into.

They will be charging or fining us for wearing knickers before long.

But you ve read it incorrectly gentleshores it says
Residents could face a £300 fine if their chimney produces too much smoke. Nothing at all about being find for smoke coming out the chimney just if TOO MUCH smoke is billowing out
Sounds fair enough to me

I read about the tax on paved drives. So people who are doing something for others by moving their cars off the road instead of parking on the pavement are to be taxed for that.
If the money was going to be used to improve the drainage on public highways, there might be some excuse.

Three calls to my local Labour MP (2 before July and one since) about the blocked grids in the gutters on roads in our area which cause water to stream across the road or flood halfway across have had exactly no effect. Some of that blockage is caused by the rewilding of the verges and pavements.

I think I mentioned yesterday that workmen are clearing the weeds and long grasses that have rewilded themselves along the stream to try and stop that overflowing.

There are restrictions on bonfires. My next door neighbour years ago threatened to climb over the fence and pour water over my son's 'bonfire.' He was practising lighting a fire, with sticks between between four bricks, for his cub's badge. The Council telephonist, once she had stopped laughing, said she felt it would not qualify and I could sue the neighbour for trespass, but far better to tell him to grow up.

BigBopper

I mentioned this to our son who has a multi stove burner and he has been told if you live in the countryside it does not apply, only people with burners that live in the towns are affected.

Also they have also said that people who have paved drives will also be charged a percentage because they are causing flooding as there is no soil for the rain to soak into.

They will be charging or fining us for wearing knickers before long.

It will depend if the drive is permeable material or not and not just driveways but larger front garden areas using impermeable material contribute to flooding.

This chimney nonsense is just another of these scare headlines the news media do to catch our attention. I have given up clicking on them - although I did with this one as we have awood burning stove. But as expected it was all a lot of fuss about nothing.

The rules on fires and emissions have been gradually being tightened for some years. If you buy a wood burning stove now it is a lot more complex than it used to be in order to reduce emissions. A couple of years ago aa law was brought in banning the sale of firewood which hadn't been kiln dried and properly seasoned. It is no longer possible to buy green wood(just harvested that you dry yourself over a couple of years.

Of course this does not affect you cutting and drying wood yourself. We had two small trees cut down in our graden this year; a dead holly and an intrusive elder. The wood ffrom both is drying out in our woodshed and will not be used for at least another year.

There is no problem with paved drives as long as the substrate is suitably absorbant and it is possible for rain to drain between the bricks and slabs.

Once again one of those alarmist stories from people who do not know what they are talking about

Next, they'll be finding people whose crisp wrappers make too loud a crinkle sound.

Bah. Fining

More nonsense scare stories

Woodburners concern me because of the toxic particles (carcinogenic) many of them give off. I have read loads of reports about this and even the very latest, supposedly safest ones do give off these too.

We met with an Energy Performance Consultant and she backed up what we had read. We therefore stayed with oil and electric.

Some people who move into houses with woodburners do not understand how to use them either. They put damp wood on or green wood which stinks out the neighbourhood.

Scaremongering.

A sister lives in a small Yorkshire Dales town, and while once visiting in December, I smelt coal smoke for the first time in probably over 50 years!
It took me right back.

I once queried restrictions on bonfires and was told that if a bonfire was causing a nuisance or posing a risk, then action could be taken. This was no consolation to me when a neighbour sent clouds of smoke over my garden when I'd just hung the washing out on the line.