Kitchen Odour Assessment Supports Planning Approval for Central London Restaurant

Alkali Environmental has completed a kitchen odour assessment for a new restaurant development in Central London, supporting a successful planning application in one of the most odour-sensitive boroughs in the UK.

The assessment followed IAQM guidance on the assessment of odour from commercial cooking and evaluated the proposed extraction and filtration system against the risk of odour complaints from neighbouring residential properties.

Our assessment scope included: - Odour risk categorisation based on menu type, cooking methods and proximity to receptors - Ventilation system review against EMAQ+ and DEFRA guidance - Odour dispersion modelling to predict impact at worst-case receptor locations - Mitigation recommendations for filtration, carbon treatment and discharge height - Planning-ready report with clear compliance demonstration

The borough's Environmental Health team accepted our methodology and recommendations, and the application was approved with conditions for odour monitoring during the first 6 months of operation.

Commercial kitchen odour is one of the most common causes of complaint to local authorities. A well-structured kitchen odour assessment at the planning stage prevents costly retrofits and enforcement action. Discuss your restaurant or food premises project →