Vietnamese restaurant wins permission for new cookery workshop

A renowned city centre restaurant has won planning permission to erect a cookery workshop in the garden.

Noya’s Kitchen in Bath

Noya’s Kitchen at 7 St James’s Parade opened in December 2017 and the following year won best newcomer at the Crumbs Awards.

The planning application submitted to Bath & North East Somerset Council said Noya’s Kitchen had “grown into a thriving restaurant with an excellent reputation for truly amazing Vietnamese food”.

The restaurant, which is said to always be fully booked, previously ran cookery workshops but it impacted on the number of covers it could offer.

A planning application in 2023 for a rear extension to the lower ground floor for additional seating and a space to conduct workshops was granted.

But the directors said they could not justify the financial outlay for the erection of the extension.

Noya’s Kitchen then lodged a pre-application for a freestanding open-sided pergola and an outbuilding at the end of the garden for cookery workshops, with the council advising that the size and scale of the outbuilding, combined with the extension, would have a harmful impact.

Noya’s Kitchen said the latest proposals will provide a dedicated space in which to conduct cookery workshops without impacting on business profit margins, therefore “helping an independent, local business to grow and thrive”.

The planning officers agreed that the outbuilding as the only addition would be acceptable, subject to improvement to the proposed design and materials.

The scheme, which the council approved last week, will feature a kitchen with bench areas and a bathroom.

The business has agreed to sign a legal agreement to revoke the previously approved application.