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Your local council can introduce extra controls on emissions if there are air quality problems in your area.

Air Quality Management Areas

If air quality falls below required standards, your council will declare an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) and plan for improvements.

and if you鈥檙e affected by:

• road charging
• parking restrictions
• increased restrictions on waiting and loading times
• taxes to encourage moving goods by rail
• the review of planning applications by a pollution control team

Smoke control areas

Your council can also declare a smoke control area. This means you can only use authorised fuels, or exempted furnaces and boilers. Chimney smoke is not allowed, with only a few exceptions.

If you鈥檙e a contractor working at different locations you should always check if you鈥檙e in a smoke control area.

The darker the smoke, the more polluting it tends to be. Smoke darker than a specified shade of grey is officially classified as 鈥榙ark smoke鈥�.

The is used to define dark smoke. The chart has 5 shades of grey with 0 being clear and 5 being black. Smoke is considered 鈥榙ark鈥� if it is shade 2 or darker.

Chimney and boiler restrictions

You mustn鈥檛 release dark smoke from your premises, including from:

• chimneys serving furnaces
• fixed boilers or industrial plants, whether they鈥檙e attached to buildings or not

There are some exemptions if emissions won鈥檛 damage health or cause a nuisance.

You need a permit for most generators, furnaces and boilers.

Get a permit

The permit you need depends on the type and amount of fuel you鈥檙e burning.

Part A(1) environmental permit

You鈥檒l need a Part A(1) environmental permit if your appliances:

• have an aggregated rated thermal input of 50 megawatts (mw) or more
• burn waste oil, recovered oil or any fuel made from waste, with a rated thermal input of 3 to 50 mw

Get a Part A(1) permit from:

• Environment Agency if you鈥檙e in England

Part B environmental permit

You鈥檒l need a Part B environmental permit if your appliances:

• have a rated thermal input of 20 to 50 mw
• burn waste excluded from the Industrial Emissions Directive (IED) with a rated thermal input of 0.4 to 3 mw

Get a Part B permit from:

• your local council if you鈥檙e in England and Wales
• if you鈥檙e in Scotland

Small Waste Incineration Plant (SWIP) environmental permit

You鈥檒l need a Small Waste Incineration Plant (SWIP) environmental permit if your appliance can burn either:

• less than 10 tonnes per day of hazardous waste
• less than 3 tonnes per hour of non-hazardous waste (equivalent to 72 tonnes per day)

Get a SWIP environmental permit from your local council.

Installing furnaces

Your local council must approve:

• the use of a new non-domestic furnace in a building, fixed boiler or industrial plant
• changes to an existing furnace

Contact your local council about getting approval for grit and dust arrestment equipment for your furnace if it鈥檚 going to be used to burn:

• pulverised fuel
• any other solid matter at a rate of 45.4 kilograms (kg) or more an hour
• liquid or gaseous matter at a rate equivalent to 366.4 kilowatts (kw) or more

You might not need approval if your boiler won鈥檛 create emissions that can damage health or cause a nuisance. Contact your local council to check if you鈥檙e exempt.

Chimney height requirements

Your chimney must be high enough to prevent smoke, grit, dust, gases and fume emissions from damaging health or causing a nuisance. Your local council can refuse your application if your chimney isn鈥檛 high enough.

You must apply for chimney height approval if your boiler鈥檚 fuel consumption either:

• exceeds 45.4 kg of solid fuel an hour
• exceeds 366.4 kw of liquid or gas fuel

If your approval application is refused your local council will tell you the minimum chimney height you need.

A chimney may be exempt if it鈥檚 used as part of:

• a temporary replacement, for example if the boiler or furnace is being repaired
• a temporary source of heat or power for building works
• an auxiliary plant to bring the main plant up to operating temperatures
• a mobile source of heat or power for agricultural purposes

If the use of your chimney changes you must re-apply for approval.