Environment:

Public Health

There are a number of legal notices available under various Acts under the public health heading i.e. abatement notices under section 80 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, notices under section 4 of the Prevention of Damage by Pests Act 1949 etc.

The normal action is to give those either causing the problem or responsible for rectifying the situation the opportunity to do so informally in first instance. If they fail to do so then an appropriate notice will be served. The exception to this general principle is where the problem is so severe that an informal approach would be inappropriate and therefore a notice would be served in first instance. What amounts to a severe case will vary depending upon the particular problem.

Unlike several of the cases mentioned above, non-compliance with a legal notice will not necessarily be considered as so serious as to necessitate a prosecution. Clearly some of the situations dealt with under the public health heading are relatively minor and it would be inappropriate to instigate proceedings in that case.

Typical situations that could result in a prosecution being taken are: -

• Breaches of a legal notice, without reasonable excuse, where other people are significantly disadvantaged by the breach
• A consistent pattern of breaches of a legal notice
• Obstructing an authorised officer