Guidance on the Control of Odour and Noise from ... - Defra

Table 3.3 Summary of the roles of LA Officers in response to a change of use
not requiring planning permission relating to a commercial kitchen
Activity
1. Change of
use for
commercial
kitchen
premises
within Class
A3.
2. Investigation
into
consequences
of change in
use.
3. Provision of
advice.
4.
Enforcement
action.
5. Receipt of
complaint
Planning
Officer (PO)
Planning
permission
not required.
Building Control
Officer (BCO)
Only involved if
change in use
includes changes
to structure of the
building.
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Environmental Health Officer (EHO)
The Food Premises (Registration)
Regulations 1991 [7] (as amended)
requires all food premises to be
registered with the local authority. On a
change in the nature of the food
business within Class A3, the owner
must inform the LA Environmental
Health Department so that details are
changed on the register.
As long as the change in use is
registered (see below for further details)
the EHO will review the likely
consequences of the change in terms
of protecting the local amenity.
Provision of advice as to any changes
that should be made in order to avoid a
potential problem in future (i.e. causing
statutory nuisance). If advice taken then
should be no problems. If not then likely
that a complaint will be made.
EHO have powers under the
Environmental Protection Act [8] in case
of likely occurrence of statutory
nuisance. This route should only be
taken if sure that nuisance will occur.
Therefore, more likely to wait for a
complaint.
Same procedure as detailed in Table 3.2. In this case it is more likely to
require assessment for statutory nuisance in terms of noise as well as
odour, since planning conditions set in relation to original use.
It is important to raise the question as to whether a change in use not requiring
planning permission would come to the attention of the appropriate person allowing it
to be taken further. Notification of the change in the nature of the food business is
required under Regulations made under the Food Safety Act 1990 [9] , through the
food business proprietor supplying the relevant authority with particulars of the
changes. This requirement is likely to be dependent upon how robust the
enforcement systems are within the Environmental Health Department and therefore
could vary between each local authority.
3.2 Regulation Governing Design and Performance of Ventilation Systems
There is no legislation directly governing the design and performance of commercial
kitchen ventilation systems. However, other regulations protecting the health and
safety of employees, food safety the local amenity, ensuring building integrity and
relating to fire safety indirectly impact upon their design and performance and must
be adhered to. As a result, there are numerous forms of guidance available relating
to the design and performance of ventilation systems including industry guidelines,