Environmental permitting

Environmental permitting

Air pollution emissions from industrial processes can have an impact on local air quality. The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea regulates small industrial processes in the borough under the Pollution Prevention and Control regime, to ensure the prevention and reduction of emissions to air.

The table shows industrial activities in The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and the associated emissions to air:

 Industrial Activity  Air pollution emissions
Dry cleaning Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
Petrol storage Petroleum vapour

If you operate or are planning to operate a dry cleaning installation, a petrol filling station or any other activity that falls under the regulations, in the borough please visit our Information for Operators page.

 

The legislation 

Pollution from all industrial processes is governed by the Pollution Prevention and Control Act 1999 and the Environmental Permitting Regulations 2016 ('The Regulations').

The Environmental Permitting Regulations 2016 set out systems of approval for industrial processes which produce atmospheric emissions or have the potential to do so. The Regulations cover three types of activities or installations:

  • A(1) installations, for example a Power Station - these are regulated by the Environment Agency
  • A(2) installations, for example large scale glass manufacturing - these are regulated by local authorities
  • Part B Installations, for example, dry cleaners, local authorities also regulate these

Processes dealt with by the Council

Under the Regulations, the Council is responsible for 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 as dry cleaning and the unloading of petrol. The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea is almost entirely residential in character therefore there are very few industrial processes.

There are 28 Part B installations currently operating that hold an Environmental Permit and these are outlined in the table below. All permits (with the exception of 2 which are still in progress) have been recently updated as there have been changes to legislation and premise details since they were last issued.

List of Part B Permits
  Name and address  First authorised Type Emissions to air
1. Bromptons Specialist Dry Cleaners, 277 Old Brompton Road SW5 9JA
Ref. 06/012725
31/03/2008 Dry cleaner Volatile Organic Compounds
2. Chelsea Cleaners, 162 Old Brompton Road SW5 0BA
Ref. 06/012728
31/03/2008 Dry cleaner Volatile Organic Compounds
3. Debonair, 10 Stratford Road W8 6QD
Ref. 07/031948
31/03/2008 Dry cleaner Volatile Organic Compounds
4. Delux Dry Cleaners Ltd (trading as Dry Cleaning Machine), 312 Earl's Court Road, SW5 9BQ
Ref. 07/031947
31/03/2008 Dry cleaner Volatile Organic Compounds
5. Isla Dry Cleaners, 14 Earl's Court Road W8 6EA
Ref. 07/031959
31/03/2008 Dry cleaner Volatile Organic Compounds
6. Kynance Laundry and Dry Cleaning, 2- 3 Kynance Place SW7 4QS
Ref. 07/023636
31/03/2008 Dry cleaner Volatile Organic Compounds
7. Lewis & Wayne, 13- 15 Elystan Street, SW3 3NT
Ref. 06/008703
31/03/2008 Dry cleaner Volatile Organic Compounds
8. Melbury Dry Cleaners, 274 Kensington High Street W8 6ND
Ref. 07/031956
31/03/2008 Dry cleaner Volatile Organic Compounds
9. Melbury Dry Cleaners, 255 Old Brompton Road, SW5 9HP
Ref. 06/012727
31/03/2008 Dry cleaner Volatile Organic Compounds
10. Miracle Dry Cleaning & Laundry, 9 Gloucester Road, London, SW7 4PP
Ref. 22/313128
03/01/223 Dry cleaner Volatile Organic Compounds
11. Nextdoor Dry Cleaners, 60 Princedale Road W11 4NL
Ref. 16/193905
04
04/01/2017 Dry cleaner Volatile Organic Compounds
12. 99 Dry Cleaners, 136 Holland Park Ave, W11 4UE
Ref. 06/012711
31/03/2008 Dry cleaner Volatile Organic Compounds
13. One Dry Cleaners Limited, 467 King’s Road SW10 0LU
Ref. 07/031965
31/03/2008 Dry cleaner Volatile Organic Compounds
14. The Park Tower, 101 Knightsbridge SW1X 7RN
Ref. 07/031962
31/03/2008 Dry cleaner Volatile Organic Compounds
15. Premier Dry Cleaners, 8 Abingdon Road W8 6AF
Ref. 10/082364
17/05/2010 Dry cleaner Volatile Organic Compounds
16. Radiant Dry Cleaners, 5 Hogarth Place, SW5 0QT
Ref. 06/008802
31/03/2008 Dry cleaner Volatile Organic Compounds
17. Reeves of Kensington, 129 Earl's Court Road SW5 9RH
Ref. 07/031963
(Permit in the
process of being updated)
31/03/2008 Dry cleaner Volatile Organic Compounds
18. Sir Plus DC Limited, 343 Portobello Road W10 5SA
Ref. 07/031970
31/03/2008 Dry cleaner Volatile Organic Compounds
19. Sparkles Dry Cleaning, 512 King’s Road SW10 0LD
Ref. 07/031955
2007 Dry cleaner Volatile Organic Compounds
20. Specialist Dry Cleaners, 5 Kenway Road, SW5 0RP
Ref: 20/258806
2023 Dry cleaner Volatile Organic Compounds
21. Spic ‘N’ Span, 103 Golborne Road W10 5NL
Ref. 07/031971
31/03/2008 Dry cleaner Volatile Organic Compounds
22. 12 Dry Cleaners, 180 Holland Park Avenue, W11 4UJ
Ref. 12/127342
28/08/2013 Dry cleaner Volatile Organic Compounds
23. Chelsea Cloisters Service Station Chelsea Cloisters Sloane Avenue London
SW3 3DL
Ref. 09/066138
30/12/1998 Petrol Filling Station Volatile Organic Compounds
24. Notting Hill Gate Filling Station Ltd 22 St Marks Road, Kensington, London W11 1RB
Ref. 08/052374
07/01/1999 Petrol Filling Station Volatile Organic Compounds
25. Sainsbury
2 Canal Way Ladbroke Grove W10 5AA
Ref. 08/054251
31/01/1999 Petrol Filling Station Volatile Organic Compounds
26. Shell UK Ltd
106 Old Brompton Road
London W14 3RA
Ref. 08/054260
(Permit in the process of being updated)
07/01/1999 Petrol Filling Station Volatile Organic Compounds
27. Shell UK Ltd
49 Tadema Road London
SW10 0FY
Ref. 08/054252
12/02/1999 Petrol Filling Station Volatile Organic Compounds
28. Tesco Stores Ltd 459 Fulham Road London
SW10 9UZ
Ref. 08/054257
30/12/1998 Petrol Filling Station Volatile Organic Compounds

 

Further information about each permitted installation is held in the Public Register. Some documents within the public register can be viewed on the public register page or find out how to view a hard copy of the public register.

 

The processes

Part B Processes

1. Petrol filling stations – unloading of petrol into storage

The filling stations in the borough have all been authorised for operating a vapour recovery system. 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 applies to the unloading of petrol from a delivery vehicle into the storage tanks of filling stations and, since the 1st January 2010, it also applies to the unloading of petrol from storage tanks into customers’ vehicle fuel tanks.

The Environmental Permit ensures that this system is working correctly and that the process will not have an adverse impact on local air quality.

2. Dry cleaners – use of organic solvents

The Solvent Emissions Regulations 2004 (SED Regs) was 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. The permit has conditions that ensure that only a certain amount of solvent is used per load of clothes cleaned and confirms that the dry cleaning machine is operated and maintained appropriately.

 

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.

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

 

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 Environmental Permit. The frequency of the inspections is dependent 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.

 

Fees and charges

Operators of Part B processes are charged an annual subsistence fee which is set each year by DEFRA. There are also charges for applying for an Environmental Permit. To see the current charges for this year visit the DEFRA website.

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 the Council Offices. See the Public Register page for details.

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

Last updated: 22 February 2024