Residents living near a popular food court have complained of ‘continual and terrible’ smells from food outlets forcing them to close their windows all day over the summer.
Locals from flats above and next to the Food District on Edgware Road claim the food court has damaged their quality of life due to the pervasive smells coming from the restaurants which are contaminating both their homes and the block’s communal garden.
The food court opened without the planning permission required to adapt the previous single restaurant into a precinct holding 15 outlets, Westminster Council’s planning office has confirmed.
There are also concerns relating to fire safety, with the business having been referred to the Building Standards Regulator (BSR) for further investigation following a smoke incident affecting apartments in the building.
However the all-halal venue, which opened in August 2025, has now applied to extend its opening hours, allowing restaurants to serve until 2am from Monday to Saturday, closing at 1am on Sundays.
Residents have said the proposed hours would exacerbate the current smells, which they claim have even contaminated their clothing, bed linen and curtains.
‘The prospect of this pollution being extended into the late hours forcing us to seal off our flats even longer fill us with despair’, one resident wrote in response to the licensing application.
Another resident suggested that the number of different cuisines catered for meant that the filtration system couldn’t be calibrated for all the profiles, leading to smells invariably leaking out of the premises.
In documents seen by WT, the council’s planning department has said any licence granted would be automatically invalid due to the food court operating unlawfully without planning consent.
While the space had previously operated as a single restaurant, a food court represents a change of use due to the shared use facilities.
Despite previously operating as a single restaurant, the double unit was last used as a warehouse by Go Puff, an American grocery delivery service.
A previous planning breach was reported in 2023 when the company installed roller shutters and drastically changed the shop’s frontage without permission.
Launched just over a year ago, the Food District houses 15 food establishments serving a variety of cuisines including Five Rivers, Young Wang, Bunify, Flip & Sear and Chicos.
The company also operates other food precincts, including Medz Corner in Kensington and 5 Continents in Stratford.
In its own submission, the Hyde Park Estate Association (HPEA), which represents residents and businesses in the area, said that it objected to the extended opening hours because of concerns the extractor fan in the food court was not working effectively.
A spokesperson for the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) said: ‘We can confirm that we received two complaints earlier this year and these are being investigated.’
The Church Commissioners told WT that while they are the Freeholder of the building, an intermediate headlessee was directly involved with letting out the commercial units.
A spokesperson said: ‘We are aware of complaints from residents in the Water Gardens regarding food smells and have instructed an independent specialist to examine the extract systems in use.
‘We understand that Westminster City Council has also been investigating the unit regarding environmental health and planning matters. The Commissioners continues to cooperate fully with all relevant parties, including the BSR, and will keep residents informed of our findings and planned next steps once we receive the report on the extract systems.’
Responsible for letting out the commercial properties is Edgware Road (2015) Ltd, an Isle of Man-registered subsidiary of property giant Criterion Capital.
The headlessee lost a case against the Church Commissioners in 2020, when the former set out plans for a 117-bed ‘pod’ hotel without windows in the building’s basement.
A judge ruled in favour of the Commissioners which argued that the proposed development broke the lessee’s covenant and would adversely affect its estate and tenants within it.
Westminster City Council said it would not comment until after the application is determined by the licensing sub-committee, which is due to hear the case at a meeting this Thursday.
WT has contacted the Food District, HPEA and Criterion Capital for comment.