Environmental Health - Bees and Statutory Nuisance

The Environmental Health Section receives several complaints about bees from neighbours on an annual basis. The complaints are taken on the basis that the bees are preventing the normal use of the neighbours home by virtue of their presence in excess numbers or by virtue of the regular soiling that can occur.

The relevant piece of law is The Environmental Protection Act 1990 sections 79 - 82 where "animals kept in such a place so as to be prejudicial to health or a nuisance" is dealt with as a "Statutory Nuisance" in the same way as excess noise or bonfire smoke. If such a complaint is received, the beekeeper will be written to, advised of the allegation and the matter will be discussed informally. Information will also be passed to the complainant regarding what is reasonable and any comments that the beekeeper has about the problem. It is our experience that many of the complaints will occur as a result of swarms during the May - June period and hence will be easily resolved informally by the passage of time and the sharing of advice. In other cases where the complaints are more long term, evidence is collected from the complaining neighbours home to assess whether the presence of the bees is causing an unacceptable impact on the use of their home. If it is considered that the bees are causing a "Statutory Nuisance" a legal notice will be served requiring the problem to be resolved. Failure to comply with the Notice is a criminal offence and can result in the risk of substantial fines in the Magistrates Court.

It is far preferable to avoid problems with neighbours in the first place by considering the potential pitfalls in advance and exercising good ongoing bee management. It is acknowledged by the British Beekeeping Association that badly kept and positioned colonies can be a nuisance and that beekeeping in certain locations e.g. modern suburban gardens may not be suitable at all. The BBKA publish a series of leaflets, one of which is entitled "Bees and Neighbours", this is a good source of advice.