Step 1: Send your complaint
Send a statutory complaint to Cheshire West and Chester Council (customerservices@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk) using our template below (don’t forget to personalise it with your details):
Subject: Formal Notification of statutory nuisance
complaint
Dear Environmental Protection Team,
I am submitting a statutory nuisance complaint under Section 79(1)(d) and (e) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, concerning gases, fumes and other industrial emissions, which I believe may be prejudicial to health.
I live in [INSERT PLACE NAME] , a heavily industrialised area with multiple high‐risk sites, with the scale and intensity of industrial activity continuing to grow.
There have been frequent flaring events, odour incidents, dust fallout, permit breaches, water‐pollution events, and the Pollution Inventory shows increasing emissions from the refinery in recent years. Despite this, there is no independent, real‐time monitoring of the pollutants that residents are being exposed to, daily.
A key example is NMVOCs, which are a major pollutant released during flaring. These are not monitored by the Council, yet they are central to many of the odour complaints submitted over the years and understanding the exposure and health risks. Many refinery and chemical emissions are odourless, meaning they cannot be captured through odour logs and cannot be assessed without appropriate monitoring.
The Council continues to rely on LAQM monitoring to provide assurance to residents, but the LAQM is woefully inadequate for assessing the true exposure to industrial emissions.
LAQM:
– covers only a limited set of pollutants
– does not include key industrial pollutants such as
NMVOCs
– uses annual averages, which dilute short‐duration
but high‐intensity industrial releases, and
– is not designed to assess emissions from flaring,
chemical processing or refinery operations.
– Testing points are limited to 1–2 places and not located
where refinery pollution actually travels, despite
complaints from a much wider community location
Industrial emissions disperse across several kilometres, depending on weather conditions, and there is no scientific basis for limiting monitoring to Elton and Thornton‐le‐Moors when pollutants such as NMVOCs, SO2, particulates and refinery‐specific chemicals can travel widely across the community.
Without real‐time monitoring of the pollutants actually generated by current industrial activity, the Council is in no position to state that these emissions do not impact me, my household or the wider community.
Under Section 79(1A), the Council has a statutory duty to investigate complaints relating to gases, fumes and emissions that may be prejudicial to health. This duty:
– does not depend on odour,
– does not require an odour log,
– cannot be fulfilled using historic modelling, and
– cannot rely solely on operator‐supplied information.
I understand the Council is not responsible for regulating industrial operators (this sits with the Environment Agency). However, the Council is responsible for assessing public exposure and determining whether emissions in the community amount to a statutory nuisance. Evidence is essential to discharge this duty. If no current evidence exists because no monitoring is being carried out, then the Council is not fulfilling its statutory responsibilities.
I therefore request that the Council:
- Commences a statutory investigation under Section
79(1A) EPA 1990. - Assesses current emissions and public exposure,
not using historical data, modelled data, or operator
provided data. - Obtains independent evidence, including pollutants
relevant to flaring and industrial activity (e.g., NMVOCs).
Please confirm receipt of this statutory complaint and outline the next steps in the investigation.
Yours sincerely
[YOUR NAME]
Step 2: Contact your MP
Once you’ve submitted your complaint to the council, you can email your MP to press the Council to confirm it is treating your email as a statutory nuisance complaint and to set out the investigation steps in writing. Find your MP’s email address here.
Dear MP,
I am writing to request your direct intervention regarding industrial emissions and public‐health risks in Ellesmere Port.
I have submitted a statutory nuisance complaint to Cheshire West and Chester Council under Section 79(1)(d) and (e) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, relating to gases, fumes and emissions that may be prejudicial to health. This complaint highlights the absence of real‐time monitoring of the pollutants most relevant to refinery operations, flaring and chemical processing.
A central issue is that the Council continues to rely on Local Air Quality Management (LAQM) data as evidence of safety. The current LAQM is not adequate to monitor industrial emissions, covers only a small subset of pollutants, and uses annual averages that dilute short‐duration but high‐intensity releases. Crucially, LAQM does not monitor NMVOCs, benzene, methane, carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulphide, refinery hydrocarbons or short‐term pollution spikes — all of which are relevant to flaring and refinery operations.
LAQM monitoring locations are also not placed in all areas impacted by dispersion, meaning the Council has no evidence on which to base assurances about public exposure. I am therefore asking you to take two specific actions:
- Ensure the Council treats my submission as a statutory complaint and undertakes the required investigation
Under Section 79(1A), the Council must investigate statutory complaints relating to emissions that may be prejudicial to health. This duty cannot be discharged through reliance on LAQM data, historic modelling or operator‐supplied information. I am asking you to write to the Council to confirm
that:
– my submission is being treated as a formal statutory complaint, and
– that a full statutory investigation is being carried out in accordance with the legislation, assessing current public‐health impacts using appropriate and sufficient monitoring evidence - Request that UKHSA undertakes a cumulative public‐health
assessment for Ellesmere Port
Residents are exposed to emissions from multiple high‐risk industrial sites, yet there has never been a comprehensive assessment of the cumulative public‐health impacts of these emissions. Given the frequency of flaring, increasing emissions in the Pollution Inventory, and the absence of monitoring of
key industrial pollutants, a cumulative assessment by UKHSA is necessary and overdue.
I would be grateful for confirmation once these enquiries have been made.
Yours sincerely,
[Name]
More Information and links
Evidence of potential prejudice to health:
– CWaC’s own health data
– 2018 JSNA
– Pollution Inventory
– Emissions of volatile organic compounds from crude oil processing
– Health consequences of prolonged exposure to multiple industrial air pollutants
– Impact of Industrial Pollution on Local Communities
Comments from the Environmental Agency, obtained via FOI/EIR
request:
“There is no local air quality monitoring station for non‐methane
volatile organic compound (NMVOC) emissions, therefore the EA
cannot quantify the impact on local air quality.”
“It is difficult to estimate the impact on local air quality and
exposure to the local community.”
“Essar Oil’s Stanlow Manufacturing Complex… had the worst
possible permit compliance rating in 2019”
Summary of Key Harmful Pollutants NOT Monitored by CWAC:
– NMVOCs — primary pollutant from flaring; includes carcinogens and neurotoxins; odourless; travels kilometres.
– Benzene — known human carcinogen; emitted from flaring and tank
venting.
– Methane — indicator of leaks, venting and incomplete combustion; methane spikes often signal VOC spikes.
– Carbon monoxide — produced during incomplete combustion; causes neurological and respiratory symptoms.
– Hydrogen sulphide — causes headaches, nausea and respiratory irritation; harmful even when odour is not detected.
– Refinery hydrocarbons (toluene, xylene, ethylbenzene, styrene) — many are carcinogenic or neurotoxic; require speciated VOC monitoring.
– Short‐duration pollution spikes — invisible in LAQM annual averages; spikes are when residents experience symptoms.
