Air pollution
The effects of air pollution can include smoke, smells, and chemical emissions. Air pollution may affect your health or damage your property, for example, smoke may affect paintwork. The effects of the pollution may be delayed, and only become clear some time after the pollution occurs. Air pollution may be created either by an industrial chemical process, or a private individual, for example, by lighting a bonfire, or burning waste plastic or car tyres.
If you want to complain about air pollution created by, for example, a neighbour, you should first try and resolve the problem by speaking to your neighbour. If this does not work, you can complain to the environmental health department of your local authority. Your local authority will also deal with complaints about smaller industrial processes, for example, an incinerator or a foundry. If you want to complain about pollution from a larger industrial process, for example, a power station or oil refinery, you should contact in England the Environment Agency, or in Wales Natural Resources Wales – see under heading Further help.
Dog nuisance
Dog mess
Your local authority must clear up dog mess from streets, roads and parks, except where there is heath or woodland, or where there are grazing animals.
A local authority can also force owners to clear up after their dogs in particular areas, for example parks, streets and beaches. They can do this in a number of different ways, which include:
making a local law
applying a public spaces protection order to a particular piece of land (previously known as dog control orders). Your local authority should put up signs if an order is in force.
If your dog fouls one of these areas, you must remove the mess unless you have a reasonable excuse not to. If you don't, you could receive a fixed penalty notice.
If you get a fixed penalty notice, you must pay the penalty by the date on the notice. If you disagree with the penalty, you can go to court and argue your case. But if you do nothing, further legal action may be taken against you.
If you get a fixed penalty notice that you disagree with and want to argue against, you can get help from an experienced adviser, for example at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that give advice by email, click on nearest CAB.
Dog control
Dogs can be dangerous when they get out of control. If you are worried about a dangerous dog, you should contact the police. If there is an area where dogs are often a nuisance, you can tell your local authority. They can make local laws or a public spaces protection order (previously known as a a dog control order), to make owners keep dogs on leads in particular areas or to ban dogs from places like children's playgrounds.
You can get further information on controlling a dog in public from the GOV.UK website at www.gov.uk.
Flooding
If you think that your property is in an area which is prone to flooding, you should contact the Environment Agency's special helpline, called Floodline. You can call Floodline to:
get general information and advice, in English or Welsh
get recorded information about the latest flooding information in any part of England or Wales
register for Floodline Warnings Direct. This is a free service that provides flood warnings by telephone, email and text message
report a flooding incident in an emergency
request a free Flood Warning Information Pack, including a set of Floodline factsheets in several languages.
Floodline cannot provide detailed information about weather or travelling conditions. You can contact Floodline on 0345 988 1188 or 0845 988 1188. You can also check flood warning information online at www.gov.uk.
You can also contact your local authority to check that sufficient defences against flooding are provided in your area. In some areas, the Environment Agency, or Natural Resources Wales (see under heading Further help) may argue that it is too expensive to carry out the work necessary to protect your property.
If sufficient defences are not provided, or the Environment Agency, or Natural Resources Wales claims they would be too expensive, you can complain, using the Environment Agency’s complaints procedure. You can find information about the complaints procedure in the ‘Contact us’ section of the Environment Agency, or Natural Resources Wales websites - see under heading Further help for the website address.
If your property and possessions are damaged as a result of flooding, or you incur extra expenses, you should make a claim on your insurance. You may also be able to get help from the Social Fund or from a welfare assistance scheme.
For information about how to claim on your insurance as a result of flooding to your property, see Making a claim on your insurance policy. For more information about help from the Social fund or from a welfare assistance scheme, see Help for people on a low income - the Social Fund and other welfare