Where are the UK’s smelliest cities?

Where are the UK’s smelliest cities?

Table of Contents

  1. Where is the uk’s smelliest city?
  2. The uk's smelliest cities
  3. What can be considered to be a nuisance smell?  
  4. Where are cigarette smells of particular concern? 
  5. How can i go smoke free? 
  6. Methodology 

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:

  • agricultural practices like spreading slurry or sludge onto land

  • sewage handling facilities

  • food processors and commercial kitchens

  • animals, livestock and poultry

  • slaughter houses, abattoirs and animal by-product rendering plants like pet food factories

  • paints and solvents from garages or workshops

  • 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:

  • injure health or be likely to injure health

  • 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.

Back to blog