Odour Assessment Consultants Sussex
Chartered environmental consultants providing odour impact assessments, EMAQ+ kitchen extract assessments and dispersion modelling to support planning applications across East Sussex, West Sussex and Brighton & Hove. Fast turnaround, planner-friendly reporting, fixed fees.
Odour Specialists Working Across Sussex
Sussex is a county of three planning identities. East Sussex County Council sits over five districts — Eastbourne, Hastings, Lewes, Rother and Wealden. West Sussex County Council sits over seven — Adur, Arun, Chichester, Crawley, Horsham, Mid Sussex and Worthing. Brighton & Hove sits separately as a unitary authority with its own approach. Threaded through all of this is the South Downs National Park Authority, which is the planning authority for substantial parts of both counties and applies a higher amenity and landscape bar.
The character of Sussex odour work reflects the county's coastal-rural-urban mix. We prepare EMAQ+ assessments for seafront and town-centre restaurants in Brighton, Hove, Worthing, Eastbourne, Hastings and Chichester; odour impact assessments for agricultural and food-processing operations across the Weald and the Sussex Downs; mixed-use dispersion modelling for the growth points around Crawley and Horsham; and planning consultancy support for the concentration of agents working out of Chichester, Brighton, Lewes and Tunbridge Wells. Sussex Environmental Health teams are generally pragmatic — they want a clear EMAQ+ or IAQM assessment, defensible mitigation, and no surprises.
Reports are signed off by a Chartered Environmentalist (CEnv) and full member of the Institute of Air Quality Management (MIAQM) and the Institution of Environmental Sciences (MIEnvSc). We work alongside planning consultants, architects, agricultural agents and developers across both East and West Sussex.
Services We Provide in Sussex
Four core odour services covering every type of Sussex planning application — from a seafront café to a Wealden farm.
Odour Impact Assessment
Full IAQM-aligned odour impact assessments for industrial, agricultural and waste sources — identifying receptors, characterising the source, assessing the risk of odour annoyance, and setting out mitigation. Suitable for planning applications, permit variations and discharge of conditions across East and West Sussex.
EMAQ+ Kitchen Extract Assessment
Industry-standard EMAQ+ assessments for restaurants, cafés, takeaways and food businesses across Sussex's coastal resorts, market towns and city centres. Calculates the odour effect index for your cooking type, covers, hours and receptor distances, and specifies the carbon, UV-C or ozone treatment your extract system needs.
Industrial & Agricultural Odour Surveys
On-site sniff testing, source characterisation and complaint investigation for industrial and agricultural operators across Sussex — food processors, AD plants, livestock units, waste transfer stations and rendering. We translate findings into clear evidence for the regulator, the planning authority or a defence against statutory nuisance.
Odour Dispersion Modelling
Quantitative dispersion modelling with ADMS for complex Sussex sites — large coastal hospitality, growth-point mixed-use schemes around Crawley and Horsham, industrial sources near residential, and any site where a council officer or the Environment Agency has specifically asked for modelled concentrations at the receptor.
Common Odour Assessment Scenarios in Sussex
Sussex projects tend to fall into a small number of recurring patterns. Whatever yours looks like, we have almost certainly done one like it for the same council.
- Coastal hospitality fit-outs. Restaurants, cafés and takeaways along the Sussex coast — Brighton, Hove, Worthing, Eastbourne, Hastings, Bognor Regis, Littlehampton — typically with seafront flats directly above and conservation-area constraints on duct routing. EMAQ+ kitchen extract assessment is almost always required.
- Restaurant fit-outs in market and tourist towns. Chichester, Lewes, Arundel, Battle, Rye, Petworth, Midhurst, Crowborough and Haywards Heath — tight historic centres where the district council expects a defensible EMAQ+ assessment and a sympathetic discharge solution.
- Agricultural odour cases across the Weald. New livestock buildings, dairy expansions, AD plants and rural food processors in Wealden, Rother, Horsham and Mid Sussex — and proposed residential development near existing farm operations. IAQM 2018 applies, supported by the Environment Agency H4 framework where relevant.
- Mixed-use schemes in the growth points. Crawley, Horsham and the wider Gatwick belt are seeing significant mixed-use development where ground-floor hospitality needs an odour framework assessment to satisfy the residential interest above.
- South Downs National Park submissions. Where the SDNPA is the planning authority, amenity and visible duct/flue infrastructure attract heightened attention. Our assessments are written with that bar in mind.
- Discharge of odour-related planning conditions. If the application is already approved with an odour condition attached, we prepare the supporting assessment and statement to discharge the condition.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Sussex councils do you cover for odour assessments?
We cover the full Sussex area — East Sussex County Council and its districts (Eastbourne, Hastings, Lewes, Rother and Wealden), West Sussex County Council and its districts (Adur, Arun, Chichester, Crawley, Horsham, Mid Sussex and Worthing) and Brighton & Hove City Council, which operates as a unitary authority. Each council's planning and Environmental Health teams take a slightly different approach and we tailor our reports accordingly.
Do you carry out odour assessments for restaurants in coastal Sussex towns?
Yes — coastal hospitality is one of the most common Sussex project types. Restaurant, café and takeaway fit-outs in Brighton, Hove, Worthing, Eastbourne, Hastings, Bognor Regis and Chichester typically involve dense seafront residential within metres of the kitchen, plus conservation-area constraints on duct routing. We prepare EMAQ+ assessments that recognise these specific Sussex constraints and recommend defensible discharge points and odour control.
Do you work in the South Downs National Park?
Yes. A significant portion of West Sussex and a large part of East Sussex sit within the South Downs National Park, where the South Downs National Park Authority is the planning authority and visual, landscape and amenity considerations are heightened. Odour assessments for SDNPA submissions need to recognise the higher bar on amenity and visible duct/flue infrastructure — we have prepared reports across the park, working with the relevant district Environmental Health teams who advise on technical content.
What methodology do you use for Sussex odour assessments?
For kitchen extract assessments we use the EMAQ+ (Emissions, Mitigation, Assessment and Quantification) framework, which is the methodology recognised by Sussex Environmental Health teams. For industrial, agricultural and waste-related odour sources we apply the IAQM guidance on odour impact assessment (2018), supported by ADMS dispersion modelling where the source complexity or council request makes it appropriate.
How quickly can you turn around a Sussex odour assessment?
Most Sussex odour assessments are delivered within 5 to 10 working days of receiving the project information. We offer expedited turnaround for time-critical submissions and discharge-of-condition applications — tell us your planning deadline when you get in touch and we will work to it.
Areas We Cover in Sussex
We deliver odour assessments to every district in East and West Sussex, plus Brighton & Hove. The list below is for reference — if your project is anywhere in Sussex, we cover it.
- Brighton & Hove
- Chichester
- Worthing
- Eastbourne
- Hastings
- Lewes
- Crawley
- Mid Sussex (Haywards Heath, Burgess Hill)
- Horsham
- Arun (Bognor Regis, Littlehampton)
- Rother (Battle, Rye, Bexhill)
- Wealden (Crowborough, Hailsham, Uckfield)
- Adur (Shoreham-by-Sea)