- Decision
- dismissed, 18 September 2026
- Decided by
- Planning Inspector: J Heppell
- Authority
- Croydon (London)
- Appeal reference
- 6010883
- Application reference
- 26/00964/CONR
- Procedure
- written representations
- Development
- Section 73 variation of hours condition on a restaurant/takeaway (KFC) to open until midnight Sunday-Thursday and 02:00 Friday-Saturday
- Site context
- inside settlement
- Green Belt
- No
- Framework applied
- August 2026 NPPF
- Determinative policies
- P3
- Development plan policies
- London Plan 2021 D3, Croydon Local Plan 2018 SP4.1, SP4.2, DM10.6
- Main issues
- living conditions noise late at night
Summary
A KFC in New Addington district centre sought to extend its hours to midnight on weekdays and 2am at weekends. The appeal was dismissed. The acoustic assessment dealt with plant and car deliveries, but not with customers' voices or delivery bikes, beneath flats. The inspector mapped the council's 2024 paragraph references onto the new codes: HC5 was not engaged, and the proposal conflicted with P3.
Issues and findings
- Transition and mapping. "The Council's reason for refusal referred to paragraphs 97 and 135 of the Framework, which have been replaced by policies HC5 and P3 respectively of the updated Framework" (DL ¶15).
- HC5 not engaged. HC5 "provides guidance on hot food takeaways near schools and proposals which would give rise to a concentration of such uses and, as it has not been put to me that either of these outcomes would result from the proposal, there is no conflict with this policy" (DL ¶15).
- Noise: FAIL (P3). "their concerns related to the comings and goings of customers and to the use of delivery bikes, neither of which is explicitly addressed in the acoustic assessment" (DL ¶11). "Policy P3 requires proposals not to give rise to, or contribute to, unacceptable levels of noise for neighbouring residents … the proposal would conflict with the requirements of Policy P3" (DL ¶16).
- Local benchmark. No nearby takeaway has permission to trade after midnight, "underscoring the need" for control (DL ¶14).
Planning balance
No balance was set out. Conflict with the development-plan amenity policies and P3 was decisive (DL ¶17-18).
What made the difference
The acoustic evidence left out the noise sources that mattered: people and delivery bikes, rather than plant. That gap, with flats directly above, decided it. Compare Norbury (PINS-6010189), where the assessment observed customer behaviour at comparable venues.
Transferable points
- 2024 NPPF para 97 (takeaways) maps to HC5, and para 135 (amenity) maps to P3 (DL ¶15).
- HC5 is limited to school proximity and harmful concentration. It is not a general amenity policy for takeaways (DL ¶15).
- For late-night hours, an acoustic assessment must address customer and delivery-rider noise, not just plant and vehicles (DL ¶11).
Policy findings
Policy codes are those of the National Planning Policy Framework (August 2026) unless a development plan is named.
| Policy | Finding | Weight | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| HC5 | not-engaged | the council's reason cited 2024 para 97, now HC5; no school proximity or over-concentration was alleged, so no conflict (DL 15) | |
| P3 | fail | 2024 para 135 is replaced by P3; the acoustic assessment covered plant and delivery cars but not customer voices or delivery bikes, with flats directly above (DL 10-16) |
Key facts
- Main retail frontage of New Addington district centre, with duplex flats above the parade
- Acoustic survey 11pm-2am on a weekday; extract silencer offered
- Nearby Domino's must close by 11.30pm on weekdays; no nearby takeaway is permitted to trade after midnight
- Police said anti-social behaviour is under-reported; residents complain of litter and delivery-bike behaviour
- Parties consulted on the 2026 Framework
Related decisions
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.