London council threatens crackdown on restaurants using delivery apps

The council says it has 3,000 restaurants in the space of just a few miles and needs to limit the number of delivery drivers to preserve the peace and prevent "traffic chaos".

Due to the selection of restaurants in the west London area, the change will affect high-end restaurants as well as fast food operators.

The change, due to be implemented in the spring, will mean that restaurants that frequently make deliveries, to the extent that they are no longer a ‘secondary use’, will have to apply for planning permission to be allowed to continue. 

They will also have to demonstrate that they are implementing measures to minimise disruption in local neighbourhoods, and could face legal action if they fail to comply. 

“We have nearly 3,000 restaurants in Westminster and the council needs policies to keep up with new technology, ensuring that areas can cope with the increased demand for food deliveries,” says Daniel Astaire, cabinet minister for planning and public realm in Westminster.

“Left unchecked this will create traffic chaos.”

The BBC reports that the council recently ordered Nando’s in Westbourne Grove to stop deliveries after receiving more than 25 complaints about noise and congestion caused by congregating drivers.

“The amount of Peri-Peri [sauce] fans in the Bayswater area meant that the popularity of the delivery service grew very quickly in a short space of time,” a Nando’s spokesman told the BBC.

“Because of the location of the restaurant, at the junction of a busy residential road, this caused some disruption and the service was stopped at the request of Westminster Council.”