To ask the builders not to burn rubbish

[AnnaQuayInTheUk]

Next doors property has been sold to a couple who are having it completely gutted and renovated. There is a team of builders there Monday -Fri, overseen by a project manager. The owners appear very occasionally.

Obviously there's a lot of noise, dust etc which we accept as part of the building work. However they have taken to burning waste in the garden rather than putting it into a skip. Today was a gorgeous day here but we couldn't hang the washing out as there was smoke and ash blowing into our garden.

DH has a day off today and was hoping to do some gardening but the smoke was very heavy plus it smelled horrible. DH went round to talk to them about what they were burning as I was worried about potential carcinogens etc. DH is very mild mannered but got a very stroppy response from the guy he spoke to who said they were perfectly entitled to have a bonfire. The foreman then came over and said the smell was very bad because they were burning an old shed they'd dismantled that had a lot of bitumen on the roof. He did agree that they wouldn't burn the rest of the shed. DH said he could see that the rest of the stuff waiting to be burned looked like it was from the interior of the house.

DH wants a quiet life and thinks we should just let it go. I think we need to formally lodge our concerns about the burning of building waste with smoke and ash over our garden, and ask them to use a skip to dispose of it instead .

What do you think?

What they are doing is illegal.

I think everybody in the trade knows this, so they sound like cowboys.

The shed would have been treated with a preservative to stop it rotting. When you burn it the fumes are toxic.

YABU to ask the builders to do anything though. You are not their client and they are probably not going to care what you think.

I would report them to the Environment Agency (number on website) or police and get them to sort it out.

This makes my blood boil! I’ve just had a kitchen renovation and have paid £200 for 2 collections of waste by a licensed waste disposal company, because I’m not a twat.

They are breaking the law and will definitely be breaking your council’s rules on building works and waste. Try to phone the relevant dept at the council or there should be a ‘report it’ option on their website.

Call the fire brigade

Please don't call the fire brigade, you could be diverting an engine from a genuine emergency.

I would report to the EO.
Our dick of a neighbour was burning tires in his garden. A passing off duty firewoman came out of her car just as we were marching to his property to complaint. She had some strong words to say to him and she then promised to report him to the EO. The idiot worked for the local council too. Absolute tosser.

I'm certainly not going to call the fire brigade!

I have emailed the environment dept at the council to check whether they are allowed to do this (I know they're not).

It’s illegal. I’d report the to the council every single time. And if they weren’t proactive, I’d email my local councillor. Nothing makes a council department act faster than the councillor getting involved. And yes, I work in local government.

I work in local government too, but in Ireland and that is so true about getting a councillor involved !

We reported it here when a builder was burning rubbish sending up a plume of toxic black smoke and the council visited them and gave them a warning that next day. We hadn't expected that but it did seem to do the trick.