Smoking Shelters
This page contains planning guidance for the erection Smoking Shelters.
Background
Purpose of this guidance
What is meant by “enclosed” and “substantially enclosed” premises?
The need for planning permission
How a planning application will be assessed
Advertisement Consent
Building regulations approval
Contact Us
Background
- Smoke free legislation in the Health Act 2006 came into force in England at 6am on Sunday 1 July 2007
- The aim of the legislation is to create smoke-free places and to protect workers and public from harmful effects of passive or secondary smoke
- It introduces a statutory smoking ban in “enclosed” and “substantially enclosed” premises and public places. Smoking will only be permitted outside such buildings.
The new law will affect most public premises, including restaurants, pubs, bars, shops, cinemas, shopping centres, leisure centres, offices, factories and other enclosed workplaces. Smoking will also be prohibited on public transport (including taxis) and in workplace vehicles (delivery vehicles, haulage lorries)
- Exemptions include:
- private accommodation, but not common parts, for example staircases and lifts
hotel accommodation but only pre-designated rooms for smokers
- Experience from Ireland (smoke-free places introduced March 2004) and Scotland (introduced March 2006) shows many licensed premises will seek to provide areas outdoors for smokers, by the provision of facilities such as smoking shelters, canopies or other covered outside areas which, combined with the use of outdoor space heaters, allow use in most weathers
- These structures will generally have some form of roof, and a combination of walls and openings to comply with the Health Act provisions
- Anyone considering erecting a smoker’s shelter should make sure the shelter is suitable or it may be classified as an enclosed space and fail to comply with the smoking legislation requirements. Many catalogues currently available show shelters which do not meet the current design requirements.
- There is no legal requirement to provide any smoker’s shelter.
Purpose of this guidance
- To provide planning guidance on the provision of facilities for smokers, in the context of compliance with the new health legislation (please note this guidance note is not a definitive interpretation of the law)
- To advise on the need for planning permission and the factors to be taken into account in deciding whether or not such permission will be granted.
What is meant by “enclosed” and “substantially enclosed” premises?
- Advice on whether a proposed smoking shelter or related structure complies with the relevant health legislation is available on the Council’s web site, and further guidance may be sought from the Environmental Health team. The need to comply with smoke-free health legislation applies in addition to the need to seek planning permission, where that is required. For those structures which are submitted for use as smoking shelters, the Council’s planning and environmental health teams will liaise to ensure that both requirements are met.
- However, it is necessary to understand fully the use of these terms in the smoke-free legislation
- “Enclosed” premises have a ceiling or roof and, except for doors, windows and passageways, are wholly enclosed, either permanently or temporarily
- “Substantially enclosed” premises have a ceiling or roof, but any openings in the walls have a total area which is less than half of the area of the walls, including other structures that serve the purpose of walls and constitute the perimeter of the premises
- When determining the area of an opening, no account can be taken of openings in which doors, windows or other fittings can be opened or shut
- A roof includes any fixed or moveable structure or device that is capable of covering all or part of the premises, and includes, for example, a retractable canvas awning
- In summary, a smoking shelter with a roof and walls where the permanent openings have a total area that is the same or less than the total area of walls will be classified as “substantially enclosed” and smoking will not be permitted.
- Be aware: you need to ensure that your proposed shelter is not “substantially enclosed” - if it is then it clearly would not comply with the smoke-free regulations and you will be wasting your time and money
- You should also be aware that siting a smoking shelter too close to walls of adjacent buildings or fences could have the effect of enclosing the structure to the point where it would become “substantially enclosed” (the existing wall would become a wall of the shelter).
- You are therefore urged to take independent advice from your own legal adviser/surveyor before submitting any planning application for a smoking shelter
- Environmental Health advice will always be sought on planning applications for smoking shelters and related features.
The need for planning permission
Planning permission will normally be required for the following operations and uses:
- Permanent external smoking shelter structures - whether freestanding or attached to existing buildings
- Awnings, canopies or blinds attached to buildings and permanently extended - will almost always have a material effect on the external appearance of a building
- The use of the public highway to site forecourt tables and chairs
- Use of any land as a beer garden or yard, where the land does not already form part of the business premises
- Construction of timber decking
Planning permission will normally not be required for the following operations and uses:
- Portable freestanding awnings/canopies and space heaters
- The use of beer gardens and yards, where these are ancillary to the main pub/restaurant use and are lawfully part of the existing business
Where there is any doubt about the need for planning permission you should check with the Council’s planning service before proceeding. Where a building is listed for its historic or architectural importance, it may be necessary to seek listed building consent.
How a planning application will be assessed
All planning decisions are based upon planning policies contained within the Council’s adopted development plan, related guidance, and any other material considerations.
When assessing a planning application for a shelter, awning or similar structure, the Council will seek to ensure that the facilities are well-designed and sensitively sited in a way that:
- retains the character and appearance of the main building
- enhances the street scene
- protects the safety and free flow of pedestrians
- has no detrimental impact on the amenity of neighbouring residents
In particular, the type of questions you ought to be able to answer include:
- Is the shelter or other structure in a prominent location?
- Is the structure well designed, using appropriate materials, and in character with the existing building?
- Will the location and siting of the shelter lead to a noise, light or smoke nuisance to neighbours or have any adverse amenity impact in terms of:
- visual intrusion
- character and appearance of the area
- loss of outlook
- overlooking of adjacent residential premises
- light pollution
- siting adjacent to doors/windows/air intake systems - whether within or adjacent to the premises
- secondary smoke infiltration into adjacent residential or commercial premises
- introduction or intensification of activity and disturbance near noise sensitive premises, particularly in the late evening
- Will the siting of the shelter result in loss of parking spaces, with associated impact on parking problems in the vicinity?
Will the shelter obstruct or block an adjacent public footpath or road to the detriment of pedestrian or traffic safety?
In general, canopies, shelters, heaters and similar structures sited on the public highway or on other public spaces are unlikely to be permitted.
Proposals affecting premises in a conservation area, or affecting a listed building, will be particularly sensitive. The design of any smoking - related structure shelter would need to be of exceptional quality if it were not to adversely affect the character or setting of a listed building, or the character or appearance of a conservation area.
If planning permission is granted, conditions may be imposed to restrict, for example, the transmission of music or any other amplified sound to any noise-sensitive boundary. In some cases, temporary permission may be granted to allow the review of any impact in sensitive locations.
Advertisement Consent
If you propose to provide new external signs, for example, to direct customers to smoking shelters, you may need to make a separate application for advertisement consent.
The main issues in deciding whether to grant consent will be:
- highway safety - for example, would the sign cause obstruction to pedestrians or traffic?; and
- amenity - would the sign be visually obtrusive - particularly in a conservation area, or on a listed building - or add to advertisement clutter?
Building regulations approval
The following structures are currently exempt from control under the building regulations:
- A small detached single storey buildings with an internal floor area of not more than 30m² which contains no sleeping accommodation, and is sited at least 1m from the site boundary or constructed substantially of non-combustible material
- A small detached single storey building with an internal floor area of not more than 15m²
- The extension of a building by the addition at ground level of:
- a conservatory, porch, covered yard or covered way; or
- a carport open on at least two sides;
Contact Us
You can seek further information and advice from the Council’s Customer Services helpline on 01737 276000.
In addition www.smokefreeengland provides guidance on smokefree in general.
Reigate & Banstead Borough Council
Town Hall
Castlefield Road
Reigate
RH2 0SH
01737 276000
customer.services@reigate-banstead.gov.uk
Reigate and Banstead Borough Council is not responsible for the content of external sites.
