We have received a complaint from a householder across the road about smoke from a bonfire at 7.00am on Saturday morning. He was understandably annoyed.

You are reminded that we must only have bonfires as permitted in the Council’s Terms and Conditions. These can be found on the Council’s website.   These state that:

Between 1 October and 31 March, bonfires are only permitted Monday to Friday during daylight hours. In addition to this, bonfires are permitted on the first Saturday of every month during the hours of 9am and 1pm.
Bonfires can only be used under the following conditions:
– Only for burning plant matter that cannot be composted (no other materials to be burnt).
– Nuisance must not be caused to nearby tenants, residents, and road or rail users.
– Fires must not be left unattended.
– Suitable means must be at hand to control and extinguish the fire at any time.
– Fires must be extinguished before leaving site.
– Any fire must be extinguished immediately upon request of a council officer.
Any plot holder contravening these conditions will be dealt with via the termination policy.

Although the first paragraph is slightly ambiguous the intention is to follow what we have always done – no bonfires at all in the summer months.