Ayrshire has been noted for its distinct odour by fragrance experts and is recorded as one of the foulest smelling places in the country.

The moniker of stinkiest places to live is not one most councils, or residents, would like, but like it or lump it the three Ayrshire council areas all feature in the top 10 of smelliest places to live according to official complaints data from 30 councils compiled by fragrance company Lifestyle Packaging.

Whilst Moray has been declared the foulest of the lot, South Ayrshire has the distinction of being declared Ayrshire's stinkiest place to live, coming in at third place on the overall table with 572 total smell complaints, 508 per capita, from 2015-2019.

The most common odour for South Ayrshire was reported as 'Domestic', meaning residents are more likely to take offence to bad odours coming from their neighbours than anything else.

North Ayrshire is next up, appearing at number nine on the Scotland leaderboard with 407 total complaints, 301 per capita, most commonly being attributed to smells of an agricultural nature.

East Ayrshire follows closely behind, occupying the final position on the top 10 leaderboard, with 362 complaints, 297 per capita, also most commonly attributed to agriculture.

According to the UK Government, a bad odour is deemed 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, behind damp and the property being in a poor state of repair.

Believe it or not, councils often send out human “sniffers” to assess smell complaints and ask local residents to keep “smell diaries”, recording their perception of the smell and the effect it has on them.

Councils can also issue an abatement notice to the person responsible, demanding they take steps to stop the smell nuisance. Failure to comply with an abatement notice can lead to a maximum fine of £40,000.

At the other end of the table, Scotland’s “best smelling” places to live with the fewest smell complaints per capita are: 

·         The Scottish Borders (51 smell complaints, mostly about domestic odours)

·         Dumfries and Galloway (69 complaints)

·         East Dunbartonshire (70 complaints, mostly about sewage fumes)

·         Eilean Siar (80 complaints, again mostly about sewage fumes)

·         North Lanarkshire (110 complaints, mostly about drainage)

A link to the full report is available here: https://www.lifestylepackaging.com/blog/the-smelliest-places-to-live-in-the-uk-revealed/