We’re updating our smoke control orders in Chesterfield, and you can have your say on the proposed changes.
The whole of the Chesterfield borough boundary has been designated as a ‘smoke control area’, consisting of 22 individual 'smoke control orders'. These orders regulate emissions through chimneys in residential and commercial properties.
Due to changes in national legislation under the Environment Act 2021, the individual smoke control orders are being changed to a single zone covering the whole borough. Under the proposals, the zone will now include smoke from moored vessels such as houseboats.
Smoke control orders are about the visual presence of smoke, and do not cover the smell of smoke. The council is legally required to investigate complaints about smoke from chimney flues under the Clean Air Act 1993 .
The orders mean that residents and businesses in Chesterfield must use Defra approved stoves and smokeless fuels if they wish to have a fire in their home or premises.
The legislation does not cover garden fires – this is managed separately through different rules.
The consultation on the proposed changes to smoke control orders in Chesterfield will run from Tuesday 6 May until Tuesday 17 June 2025.
Paper copies of the consultation are available, please email pollution@chesterfield.gov.uk to request a copy, or see our background information below.
Background information
The World Health Organisation defines air pollution as the ‘contamination of the indoor or outdoor environment by any chemical, physical or biological agent that modifies the natural characteristics of the atmosphere’ and it is the largest environmental risk to public health in the UK.
The gradual increase in air pollution is largely as a result of urbanisation and a change of fuel use, from wood to coal, which paired with rapid population growth resulted in a greater production of pollutants. The onset of the industrial revolution in the 18th century then led to more frequent pollution episodes, or 'smogs', in major cities which arose from a combination of smoke, sulphur dioxide emissions and cold weather conditions. As industrialisation increased, these episodes became more frequent and were linked to detrimental effects on health. The Great Smog of London in 1952 caused at least 4,000 deaths.
Following the 'pea-souper' smogs in the 1950s, the first law to reduce smoke in was created. This law, the Clean Air Act of 1956, introduced smoke control areas (popularly known as 'smokeless zones') to greatly reduce smoke from chimneys. Rules were introduced in these areas to prevent the use of solid fuels which caused smoke, and also to make the use of fireplaces which prevent smoke more common.
It is a common misconception that smoke control areas relate to bonfires, where in reality this designation only covers chimney smoke.
During the following 30 years, many areas across the country (mainly in urban areas) were designated as Smoke Control Areas, and this greatly reduced the problem of smogs in towns and cities. Chesterfield (like many other towns and cities) has Smoke Control Orders in place. Here in Chesterfield there are 22 separate Smoke Control Orders which, collectively cover the whole of the Chesterfield Borough Council area.
Figure 1 – outline of existing 22 smoke control orders across the borough
As the use of coal for domestic heating reduced, with gas central heating becoming more popular from the 1970s onward, the need for smoke control areas also reduced and enforcement of the law became quite rare. However, the recent increase in popularity of domestic wood burning for heating has meant that there has been an increase in the number of complaints regarding smoking chimneys.
In 2024, central Government asked local authorities across the UK to review their existing smoke control orders. We would like to combine the current 22 separate smoke control orders into a single smoke control order. We would also like to include moored vessels (such as canal barges) into the scope of the smoke control order (to reflect the introduction of the Environment Act 2021, which requires this).
In practice, the change will not be noticed outside the administrative changes which we are carrying out.
Smoke control area
Following declaration of a smoke control order, the council is legally required under the Clean Air Act 1993 to investigate complaints about smoke from chimney flues. Consolidation of the 22 smoke control orders to one smoke control order will not change the enforcement responsibilities of the council.
More information about smoke control is available here:
- smoke, bonfires and solid fuel appliances
- Defra smoke control areas
- smoke control area rules on Gov.uk
- smoke control area enforcement on Gov.uk
If you would like a paper survey to complete instead of taking part online, please email pollution@chesterfield.gov.uk.