Burnham to crack down on vape and betting shops
Andy Burnham is set to unveil a crackdown on vape and betting shops in a bid to boost British high streets, which the Prime Minister says have been “hollowed out” in recent decades.
Burnham will on Tuesday set out plans to scrap the Blair-era “aim to permit” rule, which requires councils to accept planning applications from gambling shops if they meet licensing rules.
The Prime Minister will also unveil plans to require any new shop selling vapes to gain planning permission.
The government will also tighten the definition of vape shops, to prevent businesses from describing themselves as retailers or convenience stores. The new rules will also allow councils to stop vape shops from opening near schools.
The crackdown on what Burnham has dubbed “rogue operators” comes as the Prime Minister embarks on a cost-of-living tour of the UK, aiming to highlight his attempts to offer breathing space to British households.
The Prime Minister has put revitalising high streets at the centre of his pledge to voters, as he promises to deliver “growth in every postcode”.
‘Putting communities back in control’
Officials said that local communities have raised concerns about the rapid spread of vape shops and adult gaming centres across their high streets.
Under current rules, these shops are given the same status as coffee shops and clothing retailers in planning applications.
Burnham said: ““For many people, the high streets they grew up with have been hollowed out and become unrecognisable over decades of decline.
“The rise of vape shops, betting shops and rogue operators have replaced the shops, services, and community spaces that people are crying out for.
“That’s not on. I said we would improve Britain’s high streets, and that’s exactly what we are starting to do. We’re putting communities back in control and giving local people a real say over what opens on their high street.”
The Prime Minister will appear in Derbyshire on Tuesday, alongside housing and communities secretary Angela Rayner, to announce the new measures.
West End welcomes new rules
Rayner said: “People know when their high street isn’t working for them. Whether it’s the vape shop or betting shops that’s opened with no say from locals, the shopfront that’s seen better days, or the sense that nobody’s in control.
“These problems have built up over years, but this government won’t leave councils and communities powerless to crackdown on everyday eyesores that blight our high streets.”
The government says the new policies could be in place as soon as the start of next year.
The New West End Company, which represents the leisure, retail and hospitality businesses in the district, welcomed the new powers as a “critical step forwards”.
Kate Boothman Meier, the business group’s director of corporate affairs, said: “For too long, planning loopholes have allowed the proliferation of low-quality retail businesses that can undermine the vitality and attractiveness of our high streets.
“Oxford Street is recognised as the nation’s high street and we have seen first-hand the difference that can be made when businesses, councils and the police work together to tackle unwanted uses and create a destination that people want to visit, shop, work and spend time in.”
But the New West End Company called on Burnham to reform the business rates system, which Meier said “created the conditions” for vape and betting shops’ hold on the high street.