ODC are pleased to have helped address local concerns of odour nuisance from an industrial unit, providing evidence to demonstrate the unit’s biomass boiler was causing disamenity within a residential area, outside of its planning permission.

Robust Evidence provided
Odour Consultants were commissioned to undertake an odour assessment to determine whether the industrial facility was having an unacceptable effect on local residents’ amenity.
Project Outline
Odour Consultants (ODC) undertook and odour assessment to understand the level of odour being released from the light industrial unit and whether it was causing adverse effects upon local residents, in terms of nuisance, annoyance and disamenity.
The key concern with regards to odour was smoke from the facility’s biomass boiler.
Our Role
ODC carried out field odour surveys (sniff tests) to ascertain the current intensity and characteristics of odour being released and where it was detectable in the local area. This was supplemented with a qualitative odour risk assessment, following good practice guidance.
Although the Council have previously investigated some of the odour complaints and not declared the facility to be causing a statutory nuisance, the regulations used in that process do not take account of amenity. A significant loss of amenity will often occur at directly lower levels of odour exposure than would constitute a statutory nuisance.
Our assessment demonstrated the facility could cause disamenity and would therefore not be consistent with the planning permission requirements of light industrial use.
Our Services
- Odour Consultants (ODC) acted as the odour consultants for the study.
Our Value
- Provided client-focused support to ensure all concerns were addressed and explained in a clear and concise manner.
- Provided useful litigation advice, including use class requirements.