[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":209},["ShallowReactive",2],{"guides-en-GB-roastery-premises-and-planning-permission":3},{"kind":4,"guide":5,"categorySlugs":201},"guide",{"key":6,"slug":6,"slugs":7,"category":16,"order":17,"schema":18,"title":19,"seoTitle":20,"description":21,"excerpt":22,"keywords":23,"published":31,"updated":31,"readingMinutes":32,"cover":33,"related":36,"body":60,"faq":110,"products":120,"sources":129,"paths":144,"slugMap":145,"categorySlug":200},"roastery-premises-and-planning-permission",{"de-DE":8,"fr-FR":9,"es-ES":10,"es-419":11,"pt-BR":12,"pt-PT":13,"it-IT":14,"nl-NL":15},"raeume-und-baugenehmigung-fuer-roestereien","local-et-urbanisme-pour-torrefaction","local-y-licencias-para-un-tostadero","local-y-permisos-para-una-tostaduria","local-e-licencas-para-torrefacao","instalacoes-e-licencas-para-torrefacao","locali-e-permessi-per-una-torrefazione","bedrijfsruimte-en-vergunning-koffiebranderij","starting",4,"Article","Roastery premises: planning use, smoke, odour and the lease","Coffee Roastery Premises and Planning Permission","Choosing premises for a coffee roastery in the UK: planning use classes, smoke and odour, environmental permits, flue routes, power, gas and leases.","The questions to settle before you sign a lease on a roastery unit: what the planning use allows, whether smoke and odour will be a problem, and whether you can get gas, power and a flue where you need them.",{"primary":24,"secondary":25,"intent":30},"coffee roastery premises",[26,27,28,29],"planning permission coffee roaster","coffee roasting unit uk","use class coffee roastery","environmental permit coffee roasting","informational, founder viewing units","2026-10-09",8,{"figure":34,"kicker":35},"Use class","Premises",[37,46,53],{"key":38,"slug":38,"category":39,"title":40,"excerpt":41,"readingMinutes":42,"updated":31,"cover":43},"afterburners-and-roaster-emissions","equipment","Afterburners, catalytic units and roaster emissions","Smoke and odour are the most common reason a roastery gets into trouble with neighbours. What afterburners and catalytic units do, what they cost to run, and how to decide whether you need one.",7,{"figure":44,"kicker":45},"Smoke","Emissions",{"key":47,"slug":47,"category":39,"title":48,"excerpt":49,"readingMinutes":42,"updated":31,"cover":50},"roastery-extraction-and-ventilation","Extraction and ventilation in a roastery: fumes, dust and fire","The roaster's exhaust carries smoke and chaff out; the room still needs air for the burner and protection for staff from roasting fumes and dust. The rules and the practical design points.",{"figure":51,"kicker":52},"0.02 ppm","Air and safety",{"key":54,"slug":54,"category":16,"title":55,"excerpt":56,"readingMinutes":32,"updated":31,"cover":57},"coffee-roastery-startup-costs","How much does it cost to start a coffee roastery?","The roaster is the biggest line, but installation, extraction, stock and three months of running costs usually add as much again. A line-by-line budget, with a worked example you can copy.",{"figure":58,"kicker":59},"14 lines","Startup costs",[61,63,65,67,69,73,75,77,79,81,83,85,96,98,100,102,104,106,108],{"p":62},"A roastery is a small food factory that makes smoke, odour and some noise, uses gas or a lot of electricity, and stores sacks of a combustible product. The wrong unit can cost you months. Most of the risk can be removed with a few conversations before you sign.",{"h2":64},"Planning use",{"p":66},"In England, the Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) Order sets out what a building may be used for. Light industrial processes that can be carried on in a residential area without harming its amenity fall within Class E(g)(iii); general industrial uses are Class B2. Which class your roastery falls into depends on its scale and impact, and the decision is the local planning authority's, not yours or the landlord's.",{"p":68},"A small roaster in a unit already used for light industry may need no planning application at all. Adding a flue to the outside of a building, a roastery with a cafe open to the public, or a larger roaster near homes may need permission. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own use class rules.",{"callout":70},{"title":71,"p":72},"What to do","Email the planning department with the address, the roaster size, the batches per day, the flue position and whether there will be an afterburner, and ask whether planning permission is needed. Keep the reply. Many councils offer pre-application advice for a fee.",{"h2":74},"Smoke and odour",{"p":76},"Roasting smells of coffee to you and of burning to a neighbour at seven in the morning. Odour and smoke complaints are handled by the council's environmental health team under statutory nuisance law, and they can require changes or stop the activity. A unit on an industrial estate away from homes is the lowest-risk choice.",{"p":78},"Ask environmental health whether they would expect an afterburner or catalytic unit for your roaster at that address, and how high the flue must terminate. Their answer can add five figures to your budget. See [afterburners and emissions](guide:afterburners-and-roaster-emissions).",{"h2":80},"Environmental permits",{"p":82},"The Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 list the activities that need a permit. On our reading of Schedule 1, Section 6.8 (treatment of animal and vegetable matter and food industries), heat processing of vegetable matter is a Part B activity only where it is not an excluded activity, and the manufacture of food for human consumption is defined as excluded. That suggests a typical coffee roastery does not need a Part B permit. This is our reading of the legislation, not legal advice: confirm with your local authority's environmental health or pollution team before you start, and keep their answer on file.",{"h2":84},"Services: gas, power and a flue route",{"checklist":86,"title":95},[87,88,89,90,91,92,93,94],"Gas: is there a supply of the right pressure and capacity, or will you use LPG bottles or a bulk tank?","Electricity: does the unit have a 3-phase supply if your roaster or afterburner needs it?","Flue: can the exhaust run to the outside by a short, straight route, and can it terminate above the roof line?","Fire separation: what is on the other side of the walls and ceiling?","Access: can a roaster on a pallet get through the door and onto the floor?","Floor: can it take the weight, and can it be cleaned?","Drainage and a handwash basin with hot water","Loading: room for a van and a pallet delivery of green coffee","Viewing checklist",{"h2":97},"The lease",{"p":99},"Tell the landlord exactly what you will do, including the flue and the roaster's heat. Get written consent for alterations before you install anything, and check the user clause allows roasting. A break clause after two or three years protects you if the business needs a bigger unit sooner than planned, or a smaller one.",{"p":101},"Tell your insurer the activity and the fuel. Some insurers ask about chaff collection, extinguishers and how often ducts are cleaned before they quote.",{"h2":103},"Business rates",{"p":105},"Business rates are charged on most non-domestic property. Small business rate relief in England can reduce or remove the bill on a property with a low rateable value. Check the valuation of the unit before you sign, and ask the council about relief.",{"h2":107},"Food hygiene layout",{"p":109},"Your unit is food premises once you register. Plan a flow that keeps green coffee, roasting, cooling, packing and dispatch in a sensible order, with surfaces that can be cleaned, pest-proofing and a handwash basin. The environmental health officer will look at this on their first visit. See [registering a food business](guide:register-a-food-business-as-a-coffee-roaster).",[111,114,117],{"q":112,"a":113},"Do I need planning permission to roast coffee?","It depends on the unit's current use, the size of your operation, any external flue and how close you are to homes. Ask your local planning authority before you sign a lease.",{"q":115,"a":116},"Does a coffee roastery need an environmental permit?","Our reading of Schedule 1 to the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 is that food manufacture for human consumption is excluded from the Part B activity in Section 6.8, so a typical roastery would not need a permit. Confirm with your local authority, which regulates Part B activities.",{"q":118,"a":119},"Can I roast coffee in a residential area?","Possibly, if the activity does not harm the area's amenity. Smoke and odour are the usual problems. Environmental health may expect an afterburner and a tall flue.",[121,125],{"target":122,"label":123,"note":124},"page:roasting","Roast planning","Plan batches around the hours your site and neighbours can live with.",{"target":126,"label":127,"note":128},"page:hardware","Connect your roaster","Log temperatures from the machine you install.",[130,134,137,141],{"name":131,"title":132,"url":133},"legislation.gov.uk","The Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) Order 1987, as amended","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.legislation.gov.uk\u002Fuksi\u002F1987\u002F764\u002Fcontents",{"name":131,"title":135,"url":136},"Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016, Schedule 1","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.legislation.gov.uk\u002Fuksi\u002F2016\u002F1154\u002Fschedule\u002F1",{"name":138,"title":139,"url":140},"GOV.UK","Planning permission: find out if you need it","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Fplanning-permission-england-wales",{"name":138,"title":142,"url":143},"Business rates 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