- Decision
- dismissed, 4 September 2026
- Decided by
- Planning Inspector: L J O'Brien
- Authority
- Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (South West)
- Appeal reference
- 6008242
- Application reference
- P/25/02136/FUL
- Procedure
- written representations
- Development
- Retrospective kitchen extraction flue to rear of restaurant with flats above
- Site context
- inside settlement
- Green Belt
- No
- Framework applied
- August 2026 NPPF
- Determinative policies
- P3
- Development plan policies
- Poole Local Plan 2018 PP23, PP27
- Main issues
- living conditions (noise; odour; outlook)
Summary
A retrospective restaurant extraction flue with flats above was dismissed for odour and harm to outlook for neighbours. Noise was found acceptable. The 2026 Framework is acknowledged in a single line (DL ¶4), and the decision turns on Poole local policies.
What made the difference
Because the flue was already installed, residents' repeated first-hand experience of odour, backed by the EHO and the inspector's own visit, displaced a desk-based odour assessment that conceded a "very high" risk (DL ¶14, 17).
Policy findings
Policy codes are those of the National Planning Policy Framework (August 2026) unless a development plan is named.
| Policy | Finding | Weight | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| P3 | harm | code mapped by harvester — odour: KOA itself rates the risk "very high"; flue discharges at c.4.7m close to upper-floor flats; resident evidence and site observation outweigh modelled KOA (DL 13-17); outlook: bulky, overbearing flue (DL 7-9); noise acceptable per NIA (DL 11-12) | |
| E1 | benefit | code mapped by harvester — Framework support for businesses to "invest, expand and adapt" noted but does not overcome plan conflict (DL 20) |
Key facts
- Kitchen Odour Assessment modelled intended rather than actual performance; EHO doubted its robustness (DL 13)
- Retrospective, so real-world resident evidence of odour was available (DL 14)
- Licensing/abatement powers not a substitute for proper planning control (DL 21)
Sources
This note is one of the decisions behind the NPPF 2026 Navigator, which shows how each Framework test has been applied across all the decisions in the database. Also available as Markdown.