A London bakery is facing the threat of closure, after a council ordered it not to use bread tins and the dough divider before 7am because of a single complaint about noise.

Jeff Greenall and his wife Sarah Cavan, who own The Cavan Bakery in Teddington, said the noise abatement order, which is due to come into force on 6 February, would make it impossible to bake bread in time for the morning.

Greenall said the complaint came from a neighbouring house, but said the occupants had since moved out. He said the Richmond Council had suggested the bakery be soundproofed at a cost of tens of thousands of pounds, even though there was no guarantee it would be fully effective.

“You would have to almost rebuild the building to reduce the noise,” he explained. “We cannot use rubber matting for tins, because they will melt it when they are hot. Some of the suggestions from the Council are unrealistic. It is tough enough surviving at the moment without spending tens of thousands on soundproofing. We have received an enormous amount of support from local people,” he added.

A Richmond Council spokesman said: “The bakery is using noisy equipment, which has caused sleepless nights and health problems for its neighbours. The Council has served an abatement order to stop that noise and bring some relief, and we are working with the business owner to try to find a way forward. We do not believe the order will stop the bakery operating completely.”

The two parties are due to meet next week to discuss how to proceed.