Report air quality issues

Report issues such as smell or smoke.

The best way to report an air quality issue to us is by using our online form. To use the form, you need to be signed in to your My B&D Account. If you don’t have one, you can create a My B&D Account.

Smoke control areasToggle accordion

Barking and Dagenham is a designated smoke control area under the Clean Air Act. This means that in the borough it is an offence to emit smoke from:

  • a chimney of a building
  • a furnace or any fixed boiler

Anyone who allows such emissions could be liable for prosecution.

Smoke control areas - GOV.UK.

Authorised alternative fuels

Only certain fuels called authorised fuels or smokeless fuels may be used in a smoke control areas.

Visit Defra for a list of authorised fuels.

Woodburning stoves and exempt appliances

In a smoke control area you are only allowed to burn non-authorised fuels in an exempt appliance, which minimises smoke emissions.

If you do not have an exempt appliance you can only burn authorised fuels.

Visit Defra for a list of exempt appliances and the associated fuels.

Terms such as 'clean burn', 'clean heat' and 'low emission' appliance give no guarantee that appliances are exempt or suitable for exemption.

Garden bonfires

There are no laws against having a garden bonfire, but there are laws for the nuisance they can cause.

Garden bonfire rules - GOV.UK

Air quality information

We monitor and measure air quality in the borough 365 days a year. The borough’s main source of atmospheric pollutants is road transport. There are also significant industrial sources in the south of the borough and close to its boundaries.

You can get information on air pollution in the borough from UK Air.

Visit UK Air

The free airText smart phone app gives forecasts for today and tomorrow of pollution, UV, grass pollen and temperature. Available for iPhones and Android smartphones.

Sign up for free air pollution alerts

Air quality action plan

We designated the borough an Air Quality Management Area for NO2 (nitrogen dioxide) and PM10 (particles up to 10 micrometers in size) in 2008.

Our Air Quality Action Plan includes options for reducing levels of air pollution in the borough in order to comply with UK and European health-based air quality standards.

Action plan and progress report to June 2011 (PDF, 466KB)

Air quality progress report 2013 (PDF, 2.4MB)

Air Quality Action Plan 2020 to 2025 (PDF, 430KB)

Air quality documents

Air Quality annual status report 2022 (PDF, 1.03 MB)

Air Quality annual status report 2021 (PDF, 793KB)

Air Quality annual status report 2020 (PDF, 450KB)

Air Quality annual status report 2019 (PDF, 525KB)

Air quality annual status report 2018 (PDF, 353KB)

Air quality annual status report 2017 (PDF, 1.6MB)

Air quality annual status summary report 2017 (PDF, 545KB)

Air quality annual status report 2016 (PDF, 1.5MB)

Air quality annual status summary report 2015 (PDF, 1.3MB)

LBBD Updating and screening assessment 2015 (PDF, 2.3MB)

Environmental Policy (PDF, 577KB)

Environmental policy 2001-2011 (PDF, 120KB)

Detailed assessment to April 2008 (PDF, 2.4MB)

NO2 diffusion tube report (PDF, 3MB)

PM10 Tonnage per annum (PDF, 420KB)

Progress report to April 2005 (PDF, 447KB)

Progress report to August 2007 (PDF, 423KB)

Revised progress report to August 2007 (PDF, 359KB)

Stage 4 modelling to March 2003 (PDF, 1.2MB)

Update and screening assessment to February 2004 (PDF, 713KB)

Update and screening assessment to July 2006 (PDF, 509KB)

Update and screening assessment to August 2007 amended (PDF, 495KB)

USA report final 2012 (PDF, 405KB)