Every Council maintains its own Environmental Health Department. They are the centre of advice, guidance and enforcement for many important areas, such as:
- Food Hygiene & Food Safety
- Control of Infectious Diseases
- Health & Safety at Work
- Pollution Control, including statutory nuisance & litter
- Animal Welfare
- Pest Control
- Private Water Supplies
- Private Sector Housing
- Health promotion
You will see that most of the above subjects are relevant in Licensing, and therefore and understandably Environmental Health Officers play a very large part in Licensing Compliance and both monitor and enforce this legislation. They conduct their own investigations, similar to the Police.
As concerns the Licensing Objectives, they own the ‘Prevention of Public Nuisance’ objective. Because of this, your main dealings with them around Licensing will be caused by issues concerning:
- Noise
- Light
- Odour (Smells)
- Litter, Waste Management and Street Fouling.
So, when thinking about your business, you should always consider the impact you may be having on others, including your neighbours. For example, if you operate late at night or play loud music, you may be having an impact on people who live or work nearby.
☝️ Be a good neighbour.
We will now deal with the four main areas that will bring you into contact with your local Environmental Health Officers.