´óÏó´«Ã½

Westminster City Council is to force restaurants to seek planning permission if they heavily use food delivery apps.

Businesses will face formal enforcement if their deliveries reach too high a volume and disturb local residents.

Local cabinet member Daniel Astaire said the services will lead to "traffic chaos" in London if left unchecked.

The council recently ordered a Nando's outlet to stop deliveries through the apps after it received more than 25 complaints about noise and congestion.

Council officers reportedly observed large numbers of delivery mopeds parked outside the chicken chain's Westbourne Grove address, over several weeks. The delivery vehicles caused noise and congestion in a busy residential area, according to the council.

"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 ´óÏó´«Ã½.

"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."

Any restaurants found to be using deliveries as more than an incidental service will have to apply for a change in planning permission and prove that they minimise disruption in local neighbourhoods. The policy will be included in the council's City Plan next spring.

Mr Astaire said that with nearly 3,000 restaurants in Westminster, the council needed policies "to keep up with new technologies".

"It is a popular, much needed service but we can't allow the city to be swarmed with delivery drivers," he said.

A council spokesman said that under the new rules, the volume of deliveries would determine whether a restaurant's deliveries constituted an incidental use or not.

UberEats said: "We'd welcome the opportunity to meet with Westminster City Council to discuss how we can work together to support local businesses and address any concerns they have."

Deliveroo said: "Deliveroo always works with communities and local authorities to ensure our service benefits restaurants, residents, riders and customers alike."