How Florigo Can Help with Planning Permission

You’ve found new premises and taken the long awaited first steps to running your very own, successful fish and chip shop business. However, if the premises has not previously been established as a commercial food outlet, there are a number of steps you must consider before you start trading.

A major consideration will be the planning issues relating to the new premises, as your local authority will require you to have measures in place to minimise odour and noise levels from your kitchen exhausts and your establishment’s impact on the surrounding environment.

Problems associated with odour nuisance and noise emissions are common for chip shop owners, particularly in urban areas where housing or other commercial outlets may be adjacent to or even immediately above their premises. Therefore it’s expected that the owner of a new premises undertakes an assessment in line with guidelines from the government’s Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA), in order to comply with its 2011 Regulations on the control of odour and noise from commercial kitchen exhausts.

Your local council will have no objection to you setting up a new shop if you show that you will be mitigating against any potential nuisance. Those that don’t comply risk facing potentially significant costs of dealing with complaints, the authorities and having to remediate damage by updating their existing infrastructure. More than this, though, they risk losing their valued business.

Making sure you comply with Fish and Chip shop regulations

If you’re a new owner or are looking to purchase an establishment not covered by existing planning conditions, you may be unsure about the necessary steps that need to be taken to carry out the assessment, or the best measures you can take to control environmental impacts as much as possible. At Florigo we’d be happy to help you with this planning process and have already assisted many customers with setting up their fish and chip shops to best mitigate these problems. With years of experience in the field our experts can guide you through the DEFRA assessment with a simple questionnaire, focusing on the four factors they assess:

• The size of the establishment
• The proximity of neighbouring premises
• How high the exhaust flue reaches
• The food that will be cooked

For fish and chip shops, these factors are integral to business. As chip shop establishments are usually placed in a high street setting in close proximity to other outlets, and are open for long periods of time, they are often seen to come under a high or very high risk category for the restriction of odour and noise emissions. To alleviate these problems, there are a range of solutions you can implement, lowering risks to the environment and your business itself:

How to be ready for a kitchen odour assessment

• As your commercial kitchen will use frying ranges that emit harmful gases through the cooking process and odorous fumes, duct work and ventilation are key planning consent factors so it’s important to have a solid plan of what you’d like to achieve to present to your local planning authority.
• The fan used to remove the emissions up the exhaust and into the outside environment, can increase noise levels. Using a silencer will reduce this and create a better environment for your staff, customers and others nearby.
• A UVC ozone generator can reduce the odour from the extracted emissions.
• Sufficient grease filtration that can easily be maintained can also help to lower emissions and reduce duct cleaning bills.

The number and type of control measures which need to be taken to restrict these issues will greatly vary depending on the individual situation and requirements of the fish and chip shop, however whatever your needs the Florigo team can advise you on specifications and suitable solutions before you even open, so that you can ensure you’re making the right investments to secure your business’ future.

We make a thorough assessment of your premises and specify the works and maintenance needed for your business to be fully compliant. We’ll also deal with any communications relating to planning and works and help you find the best suited options for your needs and budget. This is not something that most other frying solutions manufacturer can or are well placed to do. We can help you to understand how you can comply and set up an effective plan demonstrating your understanding of the regulations, so that the planning permission process can run as smoothly as possible, and you won’t be caught out with any unexpected costs once your chip shop is up and running.

We’re proud to offer a fully comprehensive service, as we work closely with a variety of partners and can install any specialist, specified odour and noise control measurements for your requirements. This gives you a ready solution which means you can quickly start doing what you love with quality, tested and compliant equipment.

To find out how we can help you transform your business and get the right planning steps in place for your new premises, why not chat to a member of our team? Feel free to call us today on 01527 592 000.