Foul smells can be unpleasant to deal with, particularly if they are a risk to your health or affect the use or enjoyment of your home.
To find out where Brits are taking action the most, our researchers have investigated the number of odour complaints submitted to councils across the UK, between the 1st January 2021 and 29th February 2024.
Where is the UK’s smelliest city?
Birmingham was found to be the smelliest city, with 1,916 odour complaints made to Birmingham City Council between 1st January 2021 and 29th February 2024.
Amongst the complaints, Brummies have reported the stench of ‘cheesy feet’, which following discussions between the council, neighbouring local authorities, the UKHSA and The Environment Agency was considered to be due to manure spreading.
Glasgow ranked in second with 1,420 complaints made to Glasgow City Council, with a staggering 39% of complaints made due to smoking.
Placing in third is Hillingdon with 1,334 complaints made to Hillingdon Borough Council relating to commercial odour and smoke fume.
The UK’s smelliest cities | |||
---|---|---|---|
Ranking | Council | Total number of smell complaints between 1st January 2021 and 29th February 2024 | Monthly Average |
1 | Birmingham | 1,916 | 50 |
2 | Glasgow | 1,420 | 37 |
3 | Hillingdon | 1,334 | 35 |
4 | Barking and Dagenham | 1,125 | 30 |
5 | Stoke on Trent | 1,117 | 29 |
6 | Leeds | 947 | 25 |
7 | Westminster | 912 | 24 |
8 | North Yorkshire | 809 | 21 |
9 | Cornwall | 722 | 19 |
10 | Swansea | 717 | 19 |
11 | North Somerset | 705 | 19 |
=12 | Durham | 680 | 18 |
=12 | Edinburgh | 680 | 18 |
14 | Newport | 675 | 18 |
15 | Fife | 582 | 15 |
16 | Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole | 578 | 15 |
17 | Wokingham | 577 | 15 |
18 | Hartlepool | 574 | 15 |
19 | Newham | 539 | 14 |
20 | Manchester | 470 | 12 |
21 | Hounslow | 463 | 12 |
22 | Central Bedfordshire | 451 | 12 |
23 | Cheshire West and Cheshire | 448 | 12 |
24 | Wakefield | 443 | 12 |
25 | Mid Ulster | 442 | 12 |
26 | South Gloucestershire | 424 | 11 |
27 | Northumberland | 417 | 11 |
28 | Rhondda Cynon Taf | 415 | 11 |
29 | Thurrock | 407 | 11 |
30 | Sandwell | 403 | 11 |
31 | Kirklees | 386 | 10 |
32 | Medway | 385 | 10 |
33 | Bradford | 378 | 10 |
34 | Kensington and Chelsea | 357 | 9 |
35 | Doncaster | 348 | 9 |
36 | Havering | 347 | 9 |
37 | Antrim and NewtownAbbey | 342 | 9 |
38 | Nottingham | 328 | 9 |
39 | Carmarthenshire | 323 | 9 |
40 | Caerphilly | 321 | 8 |
41 | Bexley | 319 | 8 |
42 | Kingston Upon Thames | 315 | 8 |
=43 | Warrington | 307 | 8 |
=43 | South Ayrshire | 307 | 8 |
45 | Armagh Banbridge and Craigavon | 294 | 8 |
46 | Pembrokeshire | 293 | 8 |
47 | Conwy | 292 | 8 |
48 | Somerset | 291 | 8 |
49 | Wandsworth | 289 | 8 |
50 | Halton | 288 | 8 |
51 | Mid & East Antrim | 270 | 7 |
52 | Bristol | 268 | 7 |
53 | Torbay Borough | 267 | 7 |
54 | South Lanarkshire | 266 | 7 |
55 | Leicester | 265 | 7 |
56 | North Lanarkshire | 260 | 7 |
57 | Shropshire | 259 | 7 |
58 | South Tyneside | 251 | 7 |
59 | Ards and North Down | 250 | 7 |
60 | Gateshead | 245 | 6 |
61 | Renfrewshire | 244 | 6 |
62 | Wirral | 240 | 6 |
63 | Buckinghamshire | 237 | 6 |
64 | Sunderland | 229 | 6 |
=65 | Powys | 228 | 6 |
=65 | Darlington | 228 | 6 |
=67 | Barnsley | 224 | 6 |
=67 | Rotherham | 224 | 6 |
69 | Windsor and Maidenhead | 213 | 6 |
70 | Islington | 211 | 6 |
71 | Moray | 210 | 6 |
72 | Bedford | 209 | 6 |
73 | Tameside | 208 | 5 |
74 | Aberdeen | 206 | 5 |
75 | Salford | 194 | 5 |
76 | Hammersmith and Fulham | 193 | 5 |
77 | Hull | 190 | 5 |
78 | Ealing | 187 | 5 |
79 | Camden | 186 | 5 |
80 | Merton | 183 | 5 |
81 | Redbridge | 182 | 5 |
=82 | Derry and Strabane | 177 | 5 |
=82 | West Dunbartonshire | 177 | 5 |
84 | Cheshire East | 176 | 5 |
=85 | Gwynedd | 172 | 5 |
=85 | Fermanagh & Omagh | 172 | 5 |
=85 | Southwark | 172 | 5 |
=85 | Belfast | 172 | 5 |
89 | Bolton | 170 | 4 |
90 | Tower Hamlets | 169 | 4 |
=91 | Liverpool | 165 | 4 |
=91 | Brighton and Hove | 165 | 4 |
93 | Dumfries and Galloway | 164 | 4 |
94 | Enfield | 163 | 4 |
95 | East Ayrshire | 157 | 4 |
=96 | Perth and Kinross | 154 | 4 |
=96 | Wiltshire | 154 | 4 |
98 | West Berkshire | 152 | 4 |
99 | Knowsley | 150 | 4 |
100 | Wigan | 149 | 4 |
101 | Inverclyde | 148 | 4 |
102 | Dudley | 146 | 4 |
=103 | Trafford | 144 | 4 |
=103 | Scottish Borders | 144 | 4 |
105 | Herefordshire | 136 | 4 |
=106 | Calderdale | 127 | 3 |
=106 | Oldham | 127 | 3 |
108 | Denbighshire | 123 | 3 |
109 | Sutton | 121 | 3 |
110 | Walsall | 115 | 3 |
111 | Falkirk | 113 | 3 |
112 | North Lincolnshire | 110 | 3 |
113 | Wrexham | 108 | 3 |
=114 | Sefton | 105 | 3 |
=114 | Rochdale | 105 | 3 |
116 | Torfaen | 101 | 3 |
117 | Sheffield | 96 | 3 |
=118 | Portsmouth | 94 | 2 |
=118 | Harrow | 94 | 2 |
=120 | Rutland | 92 | 2 |
=120 | Isle of Wight | 92 | 2 |
=120 | Merthyr Tydfil | 92 | 2 |
=120 | Croydon | 92 | 2 |
=120 | Merthyr Tydfil | 92 | 2 |
125 | Highland | 91 | 2 |
=126 | York | 90 | 2 |
=126 | Blackburn with Darwen | 90 | 2 |
=126 | Derby | 90 | 2 |
129 | Solihull | 88 | 2 |
130 | Clackmannanshire | 87 | 2 |
131 | Ceredigion | 85 | 2 |
=132 | Stockport | 81 | 2 |
=132 | Redcar and Cleveland | 81 | 2 |
134 | Blaenau Gwent | 80 | 2 |
135 | West Lothian | 79 | 2 |
136 | Cardiff | 75 | 2 |
137 | Bury | 72 | 2 |
=138 | Bromley | 71 | 2 |
=138 | Middlesborough | 71 | 2 |
=138 | Bath and North East Somerset | 71 | 2 |
141 | Derbyshire Dales | 69 | 2 |
142 | Greenwich | 63 | 2 |
143 | Brent | 62 | 2 |
144 | Surrey | 61 | 2 |
=145 | Monmouthshire | 59 | 2 |
=145 | Blackpool | 59 | 2 |
=145 | Lewisham | 59 | 2 |
148 | Plymouth | 57 | 2 |
149 | Southend-on-Sea | 55 | 1 |
150 | Angus | 53 | 1 |
151 | Isle of Anglesey | 50 | 1 |
=152 | North Tyneside | 45 | 1 |
=152 | Stirling | 45 | 1 |
=154 | Bracknell Forest | 44 | 1 |
=154 | Flintshire | 44 | 1 |
=156 | City of London | 43 | 1 |
=156 | Lambeth | 43 | 1 |
158 | Staffordshire Moorlands | 40 | 1 |
159 | East Dunbartonshire | 37 | 1 |
160 | Midlothian | 35 | 1 |
161 | Vale of Glamorgan | 33 | 1 |
162 | Barnet Borough | 32 | 1 |
163 | Wolverhampton | 26 | 1 |
164 | Dundee | 18 | 0 |
165 | Newcastle Upon Tyne | 16 | 0 |
166 | Peterborough | 15 | 0 |
167 | North East Lincolnshire | 14 | 0 |
168 | Isles of Scilly | 8 | 0 |
169 | Orkney Islands | 6 | 0 |
170 | Shetland Islands | 5 | 0 |
171 | Argyll and Bute | 3 | 0 |
What can be considered to be a nuisance smell?
According to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, nuisance smells can be caused by a range of problems, such as:
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agricultural practices like spreading slurry or sludge onto land
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sewage handling facilities
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food processors and commercial kitchens
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animals, livestock and poultry
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slaughter houses, abattoirs and animal by-product rendering plants like pet food factories
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paints and solvents from garages or workshops
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unplanned spills
Not every recorded smell complaint will be determined to be a statutory nuisance following investigation. For the smell to be considered a statutory nuisance, it must either:
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injure health or be likely to injure health
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unreasonably and substantially interfere with the use or enjoyment of a home or other premises
Where are cigarette smells of particular concern?
2 in 5 odour complaints (39%) made to Glasgow City Council between the 1st January 2021 and 29th February 2024 were pertaining to the use of cigarettes.
However, the number of complaints made regarding the smell of cigarettes in Glasgow appears to be declining year-on-year.
Time Period | Number of complaints made pertaining to cigarettes in Glasgow |
1st January 2021- 31st December 2021 | 247 |
1st January 2022-31st December 2022 | 143 |
1st January 2023-31st December 2023 | 137 |
1st January 2024- 29th February 2024 | 20 |
How can I go smoke-free?
If you’re looking to quit smoking, there are a number of options available to you, from nicotine pearls through to nicotine pouches. If you’re opting for nicotine pouches, for the best experience, we would recommend beginning with a lower-strength nicotine pouch, where you can then select a strength which best suits you.
If you’re looking to quit smoking, check out our range of beginner-friendly nicotine pouches here.
Methodology
A Freedom of Information request was submitted to councils across the UK, for the number of statutory nuisance smell complaints received (covered under the Environmental Protection Act) between the 1st January 2021 and 29th February 2024.
Where the Environmental Protection Act does not apply, ie. In Northern Ireland, councils which returned data have dealt with the request under their relevant legislation.
172 councils provided data regarding odour complaints; all responses can be found publicly available on whatdotheyknow.
Please note that whilst the vast majority of councils have responded with odour complaints considered to be a statutory nuisance smell, some have provided data on the number of odour complaints made, not specifying whether they were categorised as a statutory nuisance or not after investigation.
Disclaimer: The content presented on www.alternix.com is for informational purposes only and is centered around nicotine pouches and heated tobacco products—alternatives to traditional smoking methods. The information provided on this website, including blog posts and social media interactions, is not intended as medical advice, nor should it substitute for professional medical guidance or treatment.