World Environmental Health Day 2025 - Odour management case study

Mark Jones, Senior Environmental Health Officer at Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council presents this odour management case study which saw intervention from the council’s Environmental Health team.

Planning permission was granted for a change of use from Class A1 shop (florist) to Mixed use Class A5 hot food takeaway and Class A1 retail and installation of extractor fan to rear elevation.

Due to flats being located directly above the premises meaning the kitchen extraction system had to discharge into the car park to the rear of the premises below the balconies of the flats, and the premises being surrounded by other dwellings nearby, a very high level of odour control was required.

The applicant sought advice from an acoustic consultant and odour control specialist and submitted a scheme of mitigation which satisfied the requirements of the DEFRA 'Guidance on the Control of Odour and Noise from Commercial Kitchen Exhaust Systems' (now replaced by the EMAQ ‘Control of Odour and Noise from Commercial Kitchen Exhaust Systems’ guidance).

Four months after permission was granted for the change of use, the Environmental Health Team received a complaint of excess smell of food cooking from a resident 10m away from the premises. Two further complaints from residents were received and included a complaint from one of the flats above the premises, with the furthest away being 64m from the premises. The complaints related to smells of grilled/burning/charred meat described as “foul” and a “stench” most evenings/nights.

The Environmental Health intervention involved:

1. Working with the Planning Enforcement Team to ensure the approved scheme of mitigation was in place.
2. Visits and sniff tests carried out in the area by multiple officers which established existence of a Statutory Nuisance.
3. Smell Abatement Notice served.
4. Liaison with the business operator and manufacturer of odour control plant at the premises to abate the nuisance. This involved ensuring the plant was being cleaned and maintained in accordance with manufacturer’s specifications, and the business operator changing their cooking practices.
5. The above resulted in the nuisance being abated. Sporadic complaints were received from complainants following this which led to the operator increasing the frequency of cleaning/maintenance of the odour control system.

The impacts being reported by residents were that they could not enjoy their garden/hang washing out etc. and had to close their doors and windows due to the “stench”. The intervention from Environmental Health prevented this impact on the use and enjoyment of resident’s homes, which resulted in residents being less stressed.