time for me to ask a question. what are the laws regarding bonfires? we had one today at work to burn sheets of ply, offcuts of wood, pallets etc at then end of a big job we have been on. was there anything wrong with this? i thought there was something about fires after dusk?

I think there used to be a law,it was to do with the old pea soupers years back.It would make the fog twice as bad when it mixed.I work on consideration for others,like washing hanging out and that sort of thing.

Apparenly there are no specific laws prohibiting bonfires ... however, as with everything, there are all encompassing regs that should be bourne in mind :

Under the Waste Management (England and Wales) Regulations 2006 it is an offence for people to dispose of their domestic waste in a way likely to cause pollution of the environment or harm to human health.
Whilst Tarquins waste was not domestic I'm sure the Reg would be applied to the burning of site waste.

Also bonfire s could fall foul of nuisance legislation. Under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, a statutory nuisance includes "smoke, fumes or gases emitted from premises so as to be prejudicial to health or a nuisance."

I think Robs tack to just be considerate to those poeple likely to be most effected is the best tack to take.

One other little thought though -many inner cities were designated smoke free zones a generation or so back ( ie. smokeless coal needed !) - I assume this covered bonfires also and I wonder if these measures were ever set aside ?

i think i can partly answer my own question, some (might be all) planning applications are approved with conditions, and recently they have been restricting hours of work on site and prohibiting bonfires. but similarly i agree with rob, be sensible and considerate and if no-one complains it should be ok. after all, certain deeds are only wrong if you get caught doing it!