Pollution Prevention and Control

Local Authorities and the Environment Agency regulate industrial processes to ensure the reduction and prevention of emissions to air, water and land.

Existing legislation
Processes dealt with by the Council
Part B processes
Volatile Organic Compounds
The processes
Inspection and Compliance Monitoring
Variations and Permit Reviews
Fees and Charges
Public Register
Part A Processes

Existing legislation

Pollution from industrial processes has been regulated for over 100 years. The legislation controlling these emissions has changed recently.

Previously, many smaller industrial processes (for example petrol filling stations) were regulated by the Local Authority through the Environmental Protection Act 1990, in a scheme known as Local Air Pollution Control (LAPC). This controlled releases to air only.

Other larger processes were regulated by the Environment Agency, through a scheme called Integrated Pollution Control (IPC), which controlled releases to air, water and land.

Further legislation was introduced following the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Directive (96/61/EC). This was implemented by the Pollution Prevention and Control (PPC) Regulations, which slowly replaced the previous schemes mentioned above.

Further details on how local authorities regulate pollution control is given on the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (defra) website.

Systems of approval now exist for industrial processes which produce atmospheric emissions or have the potential to do so. The PPC Regulations introduced three separate, but linked, systems of pollution control;

Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) – covers installations known as A(1) installations, for example a Power Station, which are regulated by the Environment Agency
Local Authority Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (LA-IPPC) – covers installations known as A(2) installations, for example large scale glass manufacturing, these are regulated by local authorities
Local Authority Pollution Prevention Control (LAPPC) – covers installations known as Part B Installations, for example, dry cleaners, local authorities also regulate these

On 6 April 2008 the Environmental Permitting Regulations 2007 came into force with the aim of introducing common procedures for enforcement agencies involved in pollution control. Under these regulations PPC permits automatically became EP permits without any need to alter the wording on the document. Future permits will be issued under the new regulations.

Processes dealt with by the Council

Under the LAPPC and LA-IPPC, the Council is responsible for the permitting and inspecting all Part A(2) and Part B installations.

Currently, there are no Part A(2) installations within the Borough. Part B installations are those that have the potential to cause air pollution only and include activities such vehicle re-finishing and unloading of petrol. The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea is almost entirely residential in character therefore there are very few industrial processes.

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Part B Processes

There are thirty-three Part B installations currently operating that hold a LAPC authorisation or LAPPC permit. These are outlined in the table below:

Local air pollution control - part B processes in operation
Company	Address	Authorisation Date	Activity	Emissions to air
AA Noble House	5 Hogarth Place, SW5 0QT	2008	dry-cleaner	volatile organic compounds
Chase Dry Cleaners	255 Old Brompton Road, SW5 9HP	2008	dry-cleaner	volatile organic compounds
Chelsea Cleaners	162 Old Brompton Road, SW5 0BA	2008	dry-cleaner	volatile organic compounds
Kensington Valeting	156 Notting Hill Gate, W11 3QE	2008	dry-cleaner	volatile organic compounds
Lewis & Wayne	13-15 Elystan Street SW3 3NT	2008	dry-cleaner	volatile organic compounds
Deluxe Dry Cleaners	312 Earl’s Court Road, SW5 9BQ	2008	dry-cleaner	volatile organic compounds
Elias Cleaners	16-17 Glendower Place, SW7 3DR	2008	dry-cleaner	volatile organic compounds
99 Dry Cleaners	136 Holland Park Ave, W11 4UE	2008	dry-cleaner	volatile organic compounds
Kynance Laundry and Dry Cleaning	2-3 Kynance Place, SW7 4QS	2008	dry-cleaner	volatile organic compounds
Melbury Dry Cleaners	274 Kensington High Street, W8 6ND	2008	dry-cleaner	volatile organic compounds
One Dry Cleaners Limited	467 King’s Road, SW10 0LU	2008	dry-cleaner	volatile organic compounds
Sloane Cleaners	71 Lower Sloane Street, SW1 8DA	2008 Machine removed. Revocation notice served 25 June 2009.	dry-cleaner	volatile organic compounds
Central Wash	173 Westbourne Grove, W11 2RS	2008	dry-cleaner	volatile organic compounds
Portobello Dry Cleaners*	343 Portobello Road, W10 55A	2008	dry-cleaner	volatile organic compounds
Bromptons Specialist Dry Cleaners	277 Old Brompton Road, SW5 9JA	2008	dry-cleaner	volatile organic compounds
Perkins Dry Cleaners	144 Gloucester Road, SW7 4SZ	2008	dry-cleaner	volatile organic compounds
Perkins Dry Cleaners	92a Holland Park Avenue, W11 3RB	2008	dry-cleaner	volatile organic compounds
Reeves of Kensington	129 Earl’s Court Road, SW5 9RH	2008	dry-cleaner	volatile organic compounds
Spic and Span	103 Golborne Road, W10 5NL	2008	dry-cleaner	volatile organic compounds
Sheraton Park Tower Hotel	101 Knightsbridge, SW1X 7RN	2008	dry-cleaner	volatile organic compounds
Debonair	10 Stratford Road, W8 6QD	2008	dry-cleaner	volatile organic compounds
Isla Dry Cleaners	14 Earl’s Court Road, W8 6EA	2008	dry-cleaner	volatile organic compounds
Johnson Cleaners	51-52 Sloane Avenue, SW3 3DH	2008	dry-cleaner	volatile organic compounds
Kensington Valeting	512 King’s Road, SW10 0LD	2008	dry-cleaner	volatile organic compounds
Faiza Unique	46 Harrington Road, SW3 3ND	2008	dry-cleaner	volatile organic compounds
Johnson Cleaners	406-408 King’s Road, SW10 0LJ	2005 Variation Notice served March 2008	dry-cleaner	volatile organic compounds
Kensington Dry Cleaners	1 Russell Gardens, W14 8EZ	2005 Variation Notice served March 2008	dry-cleaner	volatile organic compounds
Ken’s Dry Cleaners	193 Portobello Road, London W11 2ED	2005 Variation Notice served March 2008	dry-cleaner	volatile organic compounds
J S Sainsbury	2 Canal Way, Ladbroke Grove, London, W10 5AA	1998	petrol filling station	volatile organic compounds
Shell UK Ltd	49 Tadema Road, Chelsea, SW10 0FY	1998 Stage 2 application made 2009	petrol filling station	volatile organic compounds
Puig Motor Co. Ltd	Andrew's Garage, 22 St. Marks Road, London W11 1RB	1998	petrol filling station	volatile organic compounds
Shell UK Ltd	106 Old Brompton Road, South Kensington, London, W14 3RA	1998 Stage 2 application made 2009	petrol filling station	volatile organic compounds
Tesco Stores Ltd	459 Fulham Road, London SW10	1999	petrol filling station	volatile organic compounds
Hockmead Ltd	Chelsea Cloisters, Sloane Avenue, London SW3 3EL	1998	petrol filling station	volatile organic compounds
Autodex	146-152 Freston Road, W10 6TR	2005 Ceased trading. Revocation Notice served 25 June 2009	Re-spraying of road vehicles	Volatile Organic Compounds

Volatile Organic Compounds

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs): They are a large group of predominantly gaseous compounds produced through the incomplete combustion of carbon-based fuels and include, for example Benzene and 1,3–butadiene.

VOCs may alter into substances that are able to damage the genetic material in cells and initiate the development of cancer, although the capacity to damage cells in this way depends upon the individual VOC.

The processes

1. Petrol Filling stations

The filling stations have all been authorised for operating a vapour recovery system. When a vehicle delivers petrol to a storage installation at a filling station there is a risk of vapour escaping.

Pollutants of concern include VOCs for example, benzene. The vapour recovery process works by returning vapours displaced by the delivery of petrol into storage installations through a vapour tight connection line to the tanker delivering the petrol.

The system currently applies to the unloading of petrol from a delivery vehicle into the storage tanks of filling stations. Soon vapour recovery systems will also be introduced for the filling of customer's tanks.

2. Dry Cleaners

Recently new legislation, the Solvent Emissions Regulations 2004 (SED Regs), has been introduced to limit further emissions of VOCs through the use of organic solvents. This gives effects to European Directive 1999/13/EC, which is commonly referred to as the Solvent Emissions Directive.

All new dry cleaning installations using organic solvents (in particular perchloroethylene (PER), hydrocarbon solvent (HSC) and siloxane) must have a permit before operations commence. However, if a business opened before 1st April 2001 it must have completed an application form by the 31st October 2006, to ensure compliance with the requirements of the SED Regulations/PPC Regulations by 31 October 2007.

Download and print the Application form for a permit [PDF file] (File size 90Kb).

If the dry cleaner uses any of the solvents listed in the regulations throughout any of the process (from the receipt if the raw materials, the cleaning process and dispatch of finished products) then it must not release into the environment any more than 20 grams of solvent per kilogram (2 percent) of the clean and dried product.

The Council is required to check compliance with this directive requirement by reviewing the annual return submitted by the operator. This records details of the loads that are dry cleaned, including the weight of loads prior to cleaning, it also contains a record all of the services that may be provided by the operator, including water proofing and spot cleaning solutions.

Inspection and Compliance Monitoring

All installations and processes are inspected on a regular basis, by both the regulating body and the operator to ensure compliance with their permit or authorisation. The frequency of the inspections is dependant on the results of a risk assessment process.

The risk assessment process has been devised by Defra and is undertaken annually. The risk assessment comprises an environmental impact appraisal and an operator performance appraisal.

Variations and Permit Reviews

The Council must be informed of any planned change to the process that may have an impact on the environment. The operator must notify the Council in writing at least 14 days prior to making the change. This must contain a full description of the proposed change and its likely consequences. The Council may alter the permit conditions that have been set as a result of the changes that are to be made.

Fees and Charges

The fees and charges associated with local authority environmental regulation are set annually by Defra. There are fees to apply for a permit and also annual subsidence fees. The fees and charges for 2009 to 2010 can be seen on the Defra website.

Defra: Air Fees and Charges Schemes

Public Register

The Council maintains a register of all authorised processes in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. This register can be viewed Monday to Friday during normal office hours at:

Council Offices
37 Pembroke Road
London, W8 6PW
Telephone 020 7341 5760

There is no charge for accessing the public register. Any photocopying of information will incur an administration charge.

Part A Processes

In addition to Part B processes, there are also Part A processes. These are large industrial processes and are regulated by the Environment Agency.

Until September 2002 we had one Part A process in the Royal Borough - the Lots Road Generating Station. This has now ceased to operate.

Download and print a Map showing Part A Processes [PDF file] (File size 39Kb)

Further information can either be viewed in the Councils Part A register held in the Environmental Health department or by contacting the Environment Agency.

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