Strict Planning Conditions Discharged by Target's In-House Design and Consultancy Team

Target Catering Equipment get local authority Test Valley Borough Council's strict ventilation system conditions discharged for new business's.

Having submitted a planning application for 'Change of Use' from Public House to four units with multiple uses of retail, financial services, restaurant/cafe, drinking establishment with residential flats above, Amici Catering & Co Ltd was granted planning consent for The George Hotel, Andover, subject to conditions back in December 2017.

One of the conditions restricted the listed building from use as a restaurant/cafe by prohibiting the use of cooking equipment such as ovens, grills, chargrills and deep fat fryers except without the use of an approved internal ventilation system.

Ready to move the project forward, Amici Catering & Co contacted Target Catering Equipment as specialist commercial kitchen extraction design consultants to prepare a suitable ventilation system design and specification that would adhere to the planning authorities' requirements.

A main concern was that the property required a ventilation system which could withstand the demands of a commercial kitchen whilst remaining within the property. As found with many listed building, conservation and planning officers stipulate that there must be no changes to the external appearance of the building hence this specific condition being applied.

Target designed and specified a complete commercial kitchen ventilation system to suit the proposed kitchen layout and equipment specification. As the kitchen was designed with all-electric commercial kitchen equipment, there was no requirement for a high-level exhaust to atmosphere to dispose and disperse the harmful by-products of combustion and an alternative recirculating option could be implemented.

The system specified uses patented technology that removes particulates and odours and returns air independently certified as clean.

Independent air monitoring specialists, Validair confirms "The air quality from the proposed system is very clean and maintains a level of around ISO Class 7-8 for smaller particles. The larger particles are arrested during cooking periods and for these sizes ISO Class 5-8 is seen.

This means that the air returning from the proposed system unit is around a thousand times cleaner than typical atmospheric conditions."

By specifying this type of recirculating extraction system Target has made a previously unfeasible location for a commercial kitchen within a listed building, into a completely viable option with the condition being fully discharged by the local planning authorities.