The consensus seems to be that the arrangement is compliant and I agree. I assume that the  appliance has some form of on-off switch in which case 537.1 (ii) would not apply. Bearing in mind Grenfell, the circuit could be isolated at the CU should the appliance catch fire so I do not think that indent (i) applies either. If 537.1 does not apply, the whole of Section 537 does not apply.

A local isolator feeding an unswitched socket is nice to have, but not necessary.

I wonder whether matey tested these sockets. I would not so they would be put down as a limitation.

Hi Chris

Just trying to play devils advocate a bit and also understand why in general the industry seems to believe that local isolation is required for kitchen appliances. That's certainly the overall consensus from what I have seen on face book, not saying they are right but the opinion has to be based on something.

Also

The statement, assuming the appliance has some form of on off switch is interesting.

The two appliances in question were a fridge and a washing machine

To my knowledge fridges don't have on off switches.

My current washing machine does not have an on / off switch, just a rotating controller, when in the top position it's in a standby mode and the touch screen still works.

Looking at this article https://professional-electrician.com/technical/isolation-and-switching/ they mention that mechanical maintenance includes changing a bulb.  

 they mention that mechanical maintenance includes changing a bulb.  

Indeed it does - checkout the definition in section 2 of BS 7671. Which brings us nicely to another tangent - these days the requirements for switching off for mechanical maintenance are pretty much the same as for full isolation - i.e. ordinary lighting plate switches won't do (fine for functional switching, but not for isolation or mechanical maintenance) - so to replace a lamp in the front room already requires use of the MCB or main switch. So if it's acceptable to plunge an entire floor into darkness to replace a lamp, what's the problem with throwing the MCB on the kitchen power circuit before working on a kitchen appliance?

   - Andy.

Alan, I see the point.

Our older appliances (dishwasher and tumble drier) have mechanical on-off switches, but there are still cables between the flex and the switch internally, and I doubt that either switch would directly isolate the heating elements.

The older fridge-freezer has mechanical on-off switches, but again I am sure that they are not isolators as such. It is, however, necessary to turn off the freezer from time to time for defrosting. The newer one has a touch screen and either section may be turned off, but it does remarkable things including not frosting up in the first place. It is, however, incontinent occasionally.

The washing machine is the cleverest of the lot. It does have an on-off switch (and a touch screen) but not a mechanical one, so in a sense it is never off.

All our appliances are free-standing, but only the dishwasher is in a niche. However, smarter kitchens (and laundries) have built-in appliances. Naturally, they can be disassembled just as they were assembled in the first place, but you are certainly not going to pull them out to unplug so I suppose that they do need on-off switches somewhere in the room.

Perhaps that is why the need for local isolation has become an urban myth?

Alan, I see the point.

Our older appliances (dishwasher and tumble drier) have mechanical on-off switches, but there are still cables between the flex and the switch internally, and I doubt that either switch would directly isolate the heating elements.

The older fridge-freezer has mechanical on-off switches, but again I am sure that they are not isolators as such. It is, however, necessary to turn off the freezer from time to time for defrosting. The newer one has a touch screen and either section may be turned off, but it does remarkable things including not frosting up in the first place. It is, however, incontinent occasionally.

The washing machine is the cleverest of the lot. It does have an on-off switch (and a touch screen) but not a mechanical one, so in a sense it is never off.

All our appliances are free-standing, but only the dishwasher is in a niche. However, smarter kitchens (and laundries) have built-in appliances. Naturally, they can be disassembled just as they were assembled in the first place, but you are certainly not going to pull them out to unplug so I suppose that they do need on-off switches somewhere in the room.

Perhaps that is why the need for local isolation has become an urban myth?