FOI Request - Domestic Wood Burning Stoves
Request 101003563180
1. How many domestic wood-burning stove installations are there in your Council area?
2. What restrictions and procedures relating to domestic wood-burning installations, including in outbuildings, ie sheds, summer-houses does the Council currently have in place?
3. How is the pollution created by domestic wood-burning monitored by the Council?
4. Who is allowed to install domestic wood-burning apparatus in the Council’s area?
5. What qualifications or registration are domestic wood-burning installers required to have in your Council area?
6. How many complaints has the Council received in the past five years in relation to domestic wood-burning?
7. What is your Council’s policy regarding pollution and anti-social behaviour in relation to fire-pits, etc, and bonfires?
8. How does the Council currently monitor what is being burnt in domestic wood-burning installations in your Council area?
9. Does the Council have easily accessible information on its website, or otherwise, in relation to current Defra recommended use of domestic wood-burning installations and, or the health, environmental, social damage and neighbour disputes that result from burning wood in a domestic setting?
10. What planning application process or restrictions does your Council have in place in order for someone to instal domestic wood-burning apparatus?
11. How many smoke control areas does the Council have and how are they decided upon?
Clarification sought 08-05-2024
Clarification received 07-07-2024
Response 24-07-2024
1. Not held. Information that is not held falls under Section 17 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 - Information not held.
2. In relation to Building Standards: Installations which are not exempt would require to be subject of a building warrant application.
From a development management perspective, the Scottish Governments legislation around permitted development (applied nationally) will have limitations on when stoves and their chimneys would or would not require planning permission. All such legislation is available on the Scottish Government website. Moray Council has no specific planning restricted areas for wood burning stoves.
3. Not held. The Moray Council does not monitor this type of pollution. Information that is not held falls under Section 17 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 - Information not held.
4. Moray Council has no definitive list of installers. Some will have HETAS accreditation but not all.
5. The building regulations have no mandatory requirement for minimum qualifications or registration of an approved body; this is not a Council matter
6. There were 14 complaints in total referring to wood burning, broken down as follows;
Public Health – 13 (PHCOMP and PHNUIS)
Noise – 1 (ASB complaint – ANOISE - that also makes reference to wood burning).
7. This information is published on the Moray Council website and is therefore exempt under section 25 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, information otherwise accessible. For ease of reference please find a link to the web page here: http://www.moray.gov.uk/moray_standard/page_45273.html
8. The Moray Council is not involved with monitoring of this type.
9. No.
10. Similar to the response to question 2 above, the process for applying for any development that required planning permission is set out nationally on the Scottish Government website. Similarly the permitted development rights are published online, and Moray Council has no additional restrictions or supplementary advice on the matter.
11. None