Odour Guidelines - Find a freedom of information request

Refers to previous FOI 11309714



1. Lack of Specific Odour Guidelines

Your response indicates that Lincolnshire County Council does not have specific odour limits or guidelines for planning applications, instead relying on the advice of EHOs and the Environment Agency. This raises several questions:

* Why has the council not established its own odour thresholds or guidelines to ensure consistency and transparency in planning decisions?

* Given that odour issues can significantly impact residents' quality of life, how does the council ensure that reliance on external advice leads to equitable and consistent outcomes across all cases?



2. Odour Dispersion Modeling and Assessments

You referred me to the planning register for individual odour dispersion modeling and assessments. While this provides access to data on a case-by-case basis, it does not address overarching concerns:

* How does the council ensure that dispersion models and assessments adequately reflect real-world impacts, particularly when facilities are located close to residential areas?

* Is there a standard process or framework for evaluating these models to ensure consistency and accuracy?



3. Criteria for Determining Acceptable Proximity

The absence of specific guidelines on the proximity of odour-emitting facilities to residential or sensitive areas is concerning:

* What measures are in place to assess and mitigate the cumulative impact of multiple facilities in close proximity to each other and residential areas?

* How does the council account for potential discrepancies between theoretical modeling and actual odour and pathogen impacts experienced by residents?



4. Transparency and Accountability

Given the reliance on external agencies and case-specific evaluations, there appears to be limited transparency in how planning decisions prioritise public health and environmental standards:

* What mechanisms exist for residents to verify that decisions are made with their health and quality of life in mind?

* Are there opportunities for public input or independent review in cases where odour and pathogen risks are a significant concern?



5. Environmental and Health Considerations

With odour levels reportedly nearing regulatory limits in other cases, it raises questions about the adequacy of current standards and monitoring procedures:

* Are there plans to review and update odour control standards to ensure they address potential public health risks effectively?

* How does the council ensure that the risk of pathogen exposure from odour-emitting facilities is minimised and monitored over time?



6. Cumulative Impact of Facilities

The response indicates that each case is assessed individually. However, odour and pathogen risks often arise from the cumulative effect of multiple facilities:

* What processes are in place to evaluate and manage the cumulative impacts on air quality, odour levels, and public health when multiple facilities operate in the same area?

* How does the council ensure that the cumulative impacts do not disproportionately affect certain communities or residential areas?

Refers to previous FOI 11309714

I can confirm that the information requested is held by Lincolnshire County Council. I have detailed below the information that is being released to you.  
 
1, 2 and 3. As stated in the response dated 16 January 2025 to FOI Reference 1309714, Lincolnshire County Council rely on the advice of the pollution control authorities (that is the relevant district / borough / city Environmental Health Officer and the Environment Agency) for advice on emissions from proposed developments.  These pollution control authorities have the expertise to advise Lincolnshire County Council on these matters and they:

take into account the context within which a development is proposed, including, but not limited to, the proximity of residential properties;
assess the appropriateness of odour dispersion modelling and assessments submitted to the County Council; and
consider cumulative impacts, where appropriate to do so.
The County Council consults and liaises with these pollution control authorities to ensure consistency of approach. 

4. Members of the public can make representations to planning applications and all such representations are taken into account where they relate to planning matters.  If a member of the public wished to commission their own review of the information submitted to the County Council, they are able to do so and submit such a review as part of their representation to a planning application.  This would then be taken into account in the determination of the application.  Officers produce written reports setting out the key issues and conclusions reached in relation to every planning application.  These reports are available to view at: https://lincolnshire.planning-register.co.uk/

5. Please see the above response to queries 1, 2 and 3.  If it is considered necessary to require mitigation and / or monitoring, these can be required to be implemented through the use of planning conditions if planning permission is granted.

6. As stated in the response dated 16 January 2025 to FOI Reference 1309714, each planning application is assessed on its own merits, however, part of that assessment can be cumulative impacts where this is relevant.  As stated in relation to the queries above, Lincolnshire County Council rely on the advice of the pollution control authorities in this regard.
 

* How does the council ensure that the cumulative impacts do not disproportionately affect certain communities or residential areas?