A nail salon operator has been given a year to prove a ventilation system is not sending fumes into neighbouring homes or face having to rip it out.
Crown Nails Salon, in Musselburgh High Street, installed the air conditioning unit and vent without planning permission running the vent through a communal corridor shared with neighbours.
A report to East Lothian Council’s planning committee said the vent was introduced to tackle issues around chemical fumes from the salon seeping into flats above it.
But it was claimed by one resident the external vent was under his window and continued to send smells into his home.
He told the meeting: “We anticipate another winter when we will have to have every window in our home open to mitigate the fumes and nuisance odour from the business.”
Four objections were lodged to the application with concerns about the chemicals leaking into neighbouring homes, the duct for the vent being run along a communal corridor without other residents permission and damage to the listed building raised.
Environmental health officers said an abatement notice had been served on the salon after concerns about fumes in flats above were raised and the vent system was designed to improve the situation.
A report to committee said there had been “odour nuisance arising from solvent fumes emanating from the nail salon, into the flat above”.
It added: “The works that have been undertaken are to mitigate the odour nuisance. Accordingly, the council’s senior environmental health
officer supports this planning application.”
Councillors expressed concern that the application for permission to install the vent in the listed building had been submitted after the work had been carried out.
Councillor Cher Cassini warned the local authority risked sending a dangerous message that it is “easier to get forgiveness than permission” to other people.
And while planning convenor Norman Hampshire acknowledge there were questions over whether the applicant had the legal right to put the vent in through the shared close, it was not a concern for the committee.
He said: “In terms of planning the air conditioning unit and vent meet what is required.”
Fellow committee member Councillor Colin McGinn agreed the application did not breach planning policy.
But he said: “I do have a major concern here because no permission was sought for this and I am concerned that we can approve this work and then the legal burden falls on other residents to challenge it.”
He suggested restricting planning permission to one year to allow ongoing monitoring of the fumes impact on the residents upstairs over the next 12 months.
Environment health officers told the committee they would continue monitoring the salon under the ongoing abatement notice.
Councillors unanimously approve planning permission for one year with a condition that after that date the vent will be removed unless further permission is granted which will depend on the results of monitoring.
By Marie Sharp Local Democracy Reporter
The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) is a public service news agency. It is funded by the BBC, provided by the local news sector (in Edinburgh that is Reach plc (the publisher behind Edinburgh Live and The Daily Record) and used by many qualifying partners. Local Democracy Reporters cover news about top-tier local authorities and other public service organisations.
