RENFREWSHIRE has been named as one of Scotland’s top 10 smelliest places to live.

The dubious honour was bestowed by a home fragrance firm which asked councils how many nuisance smell complaints they received from residents between 2015 and 2019.

Renfrewshire occupies eighth spot on the ‘pongometer,’ with a complaint made for every 319 residents.

The most common gripe was about smells caused by burning and bonfires.

And the most unusual whiff recorded was ‘smell of bitumen from wife’s clothes.’

Moray tops the league table, with a complaint made for every 172 residents.

A bad odour is deemed to be a ‘statutory nuisance’ if it interferes with the use or enjoyment of a home or other premise, or if it injures health. 

Bad smells are also the third biggest turn-off for homebuyers, research suggests, behind damp and the property being in a poor state of repair.
In five years, councils in Scotland received 12,736 nuisance smell complaints.

While Moray got the prize for the country’s smelliest place, the area with fewest complaints is the Scottish Borders.

Rich Quelch, of Lifestyle Packaging, which carried out the study, said: “It’s interesting to see where residents complain the most about bad smells and the range of complaints councils receive every year.

“From a pet crematorium in West Lothian to fumes from a nail bar in Stirling, the list of unusual smell complaints is endless.”

Renfrewshire Council said its environmental improvements team deals with a wide and varied range of issues, including pollution, air quality, animal welfare, pest control and business enforcement hygiene.

A spokesperson added: “We work alongside partners such as SEPA (Scottish Environment Protection Agency), the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and Police Scotland to do so.

“Whenever we receive any complaints over nuisance smell, we investigate and try to resolve. We try to do that informally, unless we judge formal action is needed – where we can issue a statutory abatement notice to prevent a nuisance.

“If anyone has an issue they want to report, they can reach the team via 0300 300 0380.”

Read all the latest from Renfrewshire and beyond

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