Municipality fails to address smoke nuisance near schools, resident takes action
A local resident's daily struggle with cigarette smoke and litter near her children's school highlights gaps in municipal policy. After feeling ignored, she escalated her complaint to the National Ombudsman, prompting partial action from authorities.
| Key Fact | Details |
|---|---|
| Resident | Karen (pseudonym) |
| Issue | Cigarette smoke and butts near her home and children's primary school |
| Location | Public pavement outside school premises |
| Initial Action | Contacted school and municipality, proposed smoke-free zone |
| Municipal Response | Complaint meeting avoided substantive discussion |
| Escalation | Filed complaint with the National Ombudsman |
| Outcome | School increased supervision; municipality apologized |
Municipalities in the Netherlands are responsible for managing public spaces and addressing nuisance complaints from residents. They must balance conflicting interests, such as smokers' rights and residents' quality of life, often requiring collaboration with schools and other local stakeholders.
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Read the full translated article below
Walking to school through a haze of smoke
Karen (not her real name) lives with her family near a primary school and a secondary school. Since the school playground became smoke-free, students who want to smoke are standing outside the premises. Karen notices this every day. They stand on the pavement in front of her house. The cigarette butts end up in her garden. Every school day, she walks with her children through a haze of smoke to the primary school. She’s had enough.
Karen first contacts the school. There, she is given an explanation. The playground must be smoke-free. That’s why students who want to smoke are sent outside. But outside the school grounds is public space. The school can do nothing about that. So Karen turns to the municipality.
No solution
She files reports and contributes ideas for solutions. For example, a smoke-free zone around the school. Or clear agreements about where students are allowed to stand. But little is done with her reports. That’s why she eventually files an official complaint with the municipality.
Unheard
The municipality invites her to a complaint meeting. At the start of the meeting, it turns out the municipality will not discuss the complaint in substance. By that, they mean: the nuisance Karen experiences and the smoking policy. Karen feels unheard. After all, the nuisance and the lack of a response from the municipality are at the heart of her complaint. Public space is for everyone. Everyone has a place there. What feels like a nuisance to her is a place for the young people to stand and smoke for a moment. Eventually, Karen decides to take her complaint to the National Ombudsman.
Action
Our investigation shows that the municipality has taken steps. It has contacted the school and made agreements about supervision around the school. But Karen was not involved in this. During the complaint process, too little room was given to discuss the nuisance she experienced. That’s where things went wrong.
Conflicting interests
I often see tensions arise in public spaces. What is a nuisance to one person is the use of that space for another. Not every problem has a direct solution. Smoking on the street is simply not prohibited. But the school now more frequently addresses the smoking students and checks whether there are no cigarette butts in Karen’s garden. She is very happy with that. She sees the difference. The municipality has offered her an apology. For Karen, the matter has been concluded positively.
This column was published in *De Telegraaf* on March 21, 2026. The person in the photo is not the person mentioned in the text.