Burnham's High Street Revamp: Councils Get Power to Curb Vape & Bet Shops
Burnham's High Street Revamp: Councils Get Power to Curb Vape & Bet Shops
Andy Burnham's new plan empowers local councils to decide what businesses, like vape and betting shops, can open on high streets. Is this the key to revitalizing town centers?
Andy Burnham is spearheading a significant shift in how local high streets are managed, empowering councils with new authority to regulate the types of businesses that can operate in their areas. The move primarily targets a "crackdown" on the proliferation of vape shops and betting establishments, which some argue have contributed to the decline and "hollowing out" of town centers.
The proposed plan involves scrapping the "aim to permit" planning rule. This existing rule has limited the ability of local authorities to prevent certain venues, such as casinos, betting shops, and 24-hour slot machine venues, from opening. By removing this constraint, councils will gain greater discretion to control the commercial landscape of their high streets, allowing them to shape local economies more effectively according to community needs and visions.
Andy Burnham highlighted the long-standing issue of high street decline, emphasizing that decades of neglect have left many town centers struggling. This new initiative aims to reverse that trend by giving local communities a stronger voice in deciding the future of their retail spaces. The ambition is to create more diverse and vibrant high streets, moving away from what is perceived as an over-saturation of certain types of businesses.
