How many of us have had a takeaway in the past month? Given the ongoing pandemic, I would hazard a guess that quite a lot of us are raising our hands right now.
Although a very challenging time, it has also been an interesting time for the hospitality sector which has been repeatedly forced to close its doors in response to the ongoing pandemic, and come up with increasingly innovative means of adapting to the changing circumstances. During the first lockdown back in March 2020, the government was quick to respond with temporary planning measures to help restaurants provide a takeaway service.
As lockdown mark II is now in full swing, the importance of takeaway services has never been more apparent. Delivery drivers continue to be listed as key workers. And whilst there will always be a need for restaurants, it will be interesting to see how those establishments which have now generated a takeaway customer base because of the pandemic, will manage to juggle this with their restaurant clientele once lockdown is lifted.
What is a dark / cloud kitchen?
One solution may be found in dark kitchens, also known as “cloud”, “ghost”, “virtual” or “remote” kitchens. These are professional kitchens that produce restaurant quality food but only for delivery.
It is not a new phenomenon, these types of kitchens have been around since 2017. Initially starting from portable buildings in London, more recently, newer sites have found a more permanent setting.
These types of kitchens have not only enabled foodie startups to test the market and in many cases flourish in the pandemic with limited outlay, it also makes a great deal of sense for those restaurants who have launched a takeaway presence owing to the pandemic, to prepare for this to continue once restaurants can open again, keeping their takeaway service separate to their restaurant environment.
Planning considerations for dark/ cloud kitchens – the use class
In planning terms, it appears that there is not yet a standard approach by LPAs and precedent is limited. Part of the confusion stems from which use class these types of kitchen should fall into.
Initially the general view was that these kitchens fell under use class B1(c), which is defined as a light industrial process, one that can be carried out in a residential area without resulting in harm to amenity. As a result, a number of cloud or dark kitchens have been created in existing B1(c) units (now Class E), without any planning permission being sought. However, it is wise to exercise caution, as recent planning application and appeal decisions are increasingly classifying these units as sui generis and there have been recent and ongoing enforcement cases relating to dark kitchens in B1(c) units.
Much seems to come down to the scale of operations. In regard to the B1(c) use, these have been applied to Commercial Kitchen Pods in the past. But key to consider is whether the requirements of the Use Classes Order which defines B1(c) as a use that “can be carried out in any residential area without detriment to the amenity of that area by reason of noise, vibration, smell, fumes, smoke, soot, ash, dust or grit” are met. Given the delivery/distribution elements of these services, coupled with the need for good ventilation and management of cooking smells, these kitchens are increasingly being classified as sui generis.
Because of these vagaries, we would recommend that you seek professional planning consultant guidance if you are considering setting up a dark/cloud/ ghost kitchen. The contact details of our planning experts can be found below.
Other planning considerations for dark or cloud kitchens
In our experience other key planning issues that will need to be considered for this type of proposal include:
+ hours of operation and access – impacts on the wider area and the safety of road users and pedestrians;
+ building operations – considerations include mitigation of noise, odours and ventilation;
+ location – finding that balance between the need to service an identified demand, whilst mitigating wider issues such as impact on amenity;
+ supporting reports – you may also need to consider the requirement for several supporting reports, dependent on the nature of your site and its context and constraints. This is very much on a case by case basis and we can advise you on this.
How we can help
We can assist you in a number of ways, from assessing potential sites for suitability in planning terms, through to preparing and submitting a suitable application for planning permission. We are also very experienced in enforcement cases, should the LPA seek to regularise the position on your existing dark kitchen. Contact Catherine Hoyte (catherine@plainview.co.uk) to discuss your requirements and see how we can best help. Alternatively, call us on 01242 501003. You can also submit your site via our Landmark Page. We value your privacy and any information which you provide will not be shared outside of our company and will only be used in relation to your enquiry.