The building and the use
103 Basingstoke Road is a two storey building in a busy stretch of shops and homes in south Reading. The client wanted to change the ground floor shop into a restaurant and takeaway. Reading Borough Council supports active uses on main roads, but a hot food use needs an extraction system that will not cause smells or noise for the flats close to the rear, and the Reading Borough Local Plan 2019 policy CC8 on safeguarding amenity is central to that judgement.
Designing the extraction route
The kitchen sits at the back of the unit, so the extraction duct runs from the canopy up the rear of the building and over the roof. The north and south elevations show the full route, the fan, the carbon filters and the electrostatic precipitator, with the air supply system alongside. The duct finishes about one metre above the roof with a vertical discharge, which lets the air disperse well above the windows of neighbouring flats.
Independent odour assessment
Because the cooking type is high risk for odour, the scheme was supported by an independent odour risk assessment prepared in November 2021 to the Institute of Air Quality Management and DEFRA guidance. It assessed the receptors, the discharge height and velocity, and the level of filtration, and concluded that the system proposed would control odour to an acceptable level. Our drawings were updated so the plans, elevations and report all describe the same equipment.
Refuse, servicing and hours
Hot food uses also raise questions about litter, deliveries and late night activity. Officers expect an application to explain where bins and waste oil are stored, how deliveries are made and what opening hours are proposed. Answering these points at the start, rather than after a consultation response, helps an officer recommend conditions instead of a refusal, and gives neighbours confidence about how the business will run.
Working through revisions
Commercial kitchens often need several rounds of detail. The drawings went through revisions A to G between 2021 and 2022 as the extraction design, refuse store and shopfront were refined in response to comments. Each revision was tracked clearly so the council could see what had changed. The same approach to odour, noise and highways now informs every food use application we prepare.
