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Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!

Has anyone else noticed of late that there is a plume of restaurant smoke accumulating over the mid section of Pemberton and Mattison roads. Usually just over South Harringay School? I know that this is a common complaint in the neighbourhood but I have noticed it is far more pronounced, permanent and noxious than ever before, leading me to believe that it may be one of the restaurants in the area possibly lacking the required filtering systems? 

It is very concentrated - to the point where one can smell what is being cooked, and tends to 'hover' over said area - one can tell that the air quality changes by going up and down the ladder streets.

Tags for Forum Posts: restaurant smoke

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Hi there - replying to this thread from a few years ago... but the problem seems to be just as bad as ever. Did anything come of the engagement with the council? Perhaps we should get in touch with them again? 

Similar fog of burnt  flesh from the shopping centre north up Green Lanes

Does Environmental Enforcement , still excited under current administration ? 

Hi All 

Environmental Enforcement does exist, and I have previously reported problems with flues and the cooking smells to them. I have been advised that residents have to keep diaries. I can chase them about the smells on Pemberton Road, but I suspect they will ask for some more specific information.

Zena

Zena Brabazon

Cllr, Harringay ward

Zena. Thanks for taking time to respond to this. As I see this approach the problem is two fold.

  1. We need enough people to raise the issue before the Environmental take notice- sadly there is a lot of apathy as to the effectiveness of this route I would suggest
  2. The problem is temporal. On the Ladder Side the wind blows in our direction 1/2 a month and is only sometimes noticeable in the evening - because this is when the conditions are as such that an inversion layer pushes down the pocket of air the smoke is trapped in as the air temperature reduces such that it becomes pronounced. By the time the Environment team were to come to visit to see for themselves (the next day?) the problem has likely alleviated!

I have asked for an out of hours number so that someone who is in a position to come can use a Mark 1 eyeball while the problem is happening. Turning up the next day is likely to be of limited utility to properly understand the problem - the grills are off, the wind may have changed (taking the problem across the Gardens instead) and the air temperature is higher, which allows for a larger bubble under the inversion layer to aid dispersion. 

Its interesting, but the problem on the Ladder or Garden sides differs. On the Garden it sounds like a chronic problem, it happens 90%+ days. There is possibly sufficient dispersal to take the dirty air away before it builds up into a pea souper, but the air is still dirty and oily. On the Ladder side it is acute. It is a problem fairly infrequently and the topography of the high ground to the West of the Ladder means the smoke builds up in the small bubble below the inversion layer and is not able to disperse leading to pretty horrid smog like conditions at times. As you walk up Pemberton you can see exactly where the inversion layer is as you emerge from it into relatively clean air. Its quite remarkable to witness to be honest!

I have added a few images I took some time back, but i am not sure they do the issue justice! The middle one is possibly the best, the bottom one shows smoke from Devran at the bottom of Pemberton...

If you have a name of someone to talk to about this Zena in the environment team so we can make some kind of arrangement that I or my neighbors do not have to go through an email or phone message that will get picked up after the problem has subsided I would be happy to talk to them.

Justin you’re welcome to come and stand on my front steps and take photos when it’s really bad. From there you can often see the smoke hanging over the bottom of Pemberton Rd. The street lighting when it’s dark makes it more apparent. 

Hi Zena

This isn't about 'smells'.

This is about fine particulate matter polluting residential streets and homes. The kind of particulates which contribute to illness and, ultimately, the early death of thousands Londoners each year. The restaurants have the excess cash to renovate and expand their premises every couple of years. They certainly have the funds to properly filter and control their harmful emissions. As for the Council, the case of Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah shows it can and should be held culpable for allowing this situation to continue.

I agree Will. It’s also not just from the Green Lanes restaurants on the ladder, it’s across our local area. Wood Green & West Green Road included. The local authority need to be working with all the local restaurants to enforce compliance, as it’s definitely a significant contributing factor to our poor local air quality.

New legislation around the burning of wet wood & coal came into effect earlier this month. How is the council enforcing & encouraging businesses in the borough to reduce their emissions? 

Found some interesting data on London's atmospheric emissions (2016). 

Commercial cooking produces 13% of the total PM2.5 emissions each year.

Commercial cooking + Domestic wood burning is 31%

Road transport 30%.

Zena, what would be the best way to report high concentrations of smoke in and outside our homes, do you know? Do you have a contact?

Thanks

Hi Justin, Dan and Everyone

Sorry for taking so long to reply. I will contact the officer in charge of Environmental Health. He and I have had previous discussions about the smoke and smells around Green Lanes when I followed up on this issue before. I will about having an on site meeting as a way forward - or if that is not possible - a virtual one. I will also contact Mike Hakata who has taken over the Environment brief. He is also a councilor for St. Ann's.

Zena 


Zena Brabazon 


Cabinet Member, Early Years, Children and Families

Cllr, Harringay ward

Thanks, Zena, for taking this up.

I think it would be particularly useful to know the best way for residents who are concerned to report excessive air pollution from restaurant chimneys to the relevant council operatives. This would enable the council and councillors to build up a picture of the scale of the problem. It was suffocating downwind of Green Lanes yesterday. 

Thanks again.

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