Extracting danger: the extractor duct behind Flavour Boss in Addiscombe this morning, after it needed four fire crews to put out the fire
Addiscombe residents are asking questions of the council’s planning department after a fire at a takeaway this morning that they say could have been avoided and “put dozens of lives in danger”.
The chimney fire at Flavour Boss on Lower Addiscombe Road saw the London Fire Brigade send out four fire engines and around 25 firefighters from Woodside, Croydon and Norbury fire stations at 5.47am. The fire was extinguished by 7am.
According to the London Fire Brigade, “Half of the external ducting (the extraction system) and part of the roof of a lean-to in the rear garden was destroyed by fire.”
The LFB saus that the fire “is believed to have been caused by cooking that had been left unattended”.
And they issued a reminder for proper vigilence of those operating commercial and domestic kitchens.
Fire spot: the Addiscombe jerk takeaway which locals say ought not to have been given planning consent
“Cooking should never be left unattended on the hob or grill – if you have to leave the kitchen, turn off the heat.
“All it can take is for you to become distracted for a few seconds and your cooking can quickly go up in flames.
“It’s also really important to keep the hob, cooker hood and extractor fan clean too – built-up fat and grease can ignite and cause a fire.”
But residents living close to the “jerk centre” allege that there has been a failure of the planning system, and they claim that the takeaway had been trading without proper planning permissions or while ignoring enforcement notices.
Inside Croydon has seen correspondence from a council planning official from August 2024 which said, “We are in the process of instigating proceeding [sic] to ensuring [sic] that the requirements of the [enforcement] notice are fully adhered to.
“Be rest assured that the process will be completed in due course.”
Residents now suggest that this morning’s fire shows that the enforcement notice on the extraction chimneys was never properly complied with.
“Shame on the council for having so little regard for the welfare of residents,” according to one resident.
“Dozens of lives were put in danger because Croydon Council gave planning permission this year.”
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Another week and more evidence of a failed Planning Department. Nicola Townsend has long been a black hole of incompetence and Ross ‘Dodgy’ Gentry is too busy taking care of developer mates. Heather Cheesbrough may have gone but the culture she created that showed ‘little regard for the welfare of residents’ remains. Though she has departed, her brittle spirit still seems to linger in the offices of the Council’s Planning Department, evident in the lingering indifference for residents. And their inability to string a coherent sentence together.
Your chating total rubbish !!!!im the owner of flavour boss we complied full with all legal requirements and procedures we was granted planning because of this our extraction system is less than 5 months old and installed by professionals and complied with council requirements. What is there to complain about ? You can smell no odours from the restaurant because we have 1 of the best esp system that cleans smoke air and odours 90%. You lot just want something to say FLAVOUR BOSS NOT GOING NOWHERE AND WE WILL BE BACK IN 3 weeks so see you soon
How unfortunate that your van burned out and your restaurant caught fire.