Smoke control area

Smoke control orders

All of the Slough area is covered by smoke control orders. These were made to reduce air pollution in the town, mainly arising from the use of coal for heating purposes.

This means that anywhere within the Slough area, under the Clean Air Act 1993, it is an offence to:

  • emit smoke from a domestic chimney of a building, from a furnace or from any fixed boiler;
  • use an “unauthorised fuel” in a smoke control area unless it is used in an “exempt appliance", for example exempted from the controls which generally apply in the smoke control area.

The current maximum level of fine is £1,000 for each offence.

You can view a list of authorised fuels in England, which must be used with a DEFRA Exempt wood-burning stove in Slough’s Smoke Controlled Area: DEFRA Open fires and wood-burning stoves 

Information on the application process for authorisation/exemption can be accessed in the Smoke Control Area Rules.

Report a smoke issue