Councils are set to gain new powers to stop betting and vape shops taking over town centres under plans announced by Andy Burnham.
As part of the plans, which were announced on Monday (10 August), local authorities will be able to reject applications for new betting shops and adult gaming centres.
Vape shops will also need planning permission, with the government aiming to introduce the changes by the beginning of next year.
According to Burnham, the plans would scrap the ‘aim to permit’ rule in the Gambling Act 2005 – councils currently have to allow new gambling premises if they meet licensing requirements.
The news follows changes introduced by Keir Starmer in April, which gave councils broader scope to consider existing gambling shops but stopped short of axing the ‘aim to permit’ rule altogether.
A No 10 source said the government wanted to tackle betting and vape shops because they’re contributing to decline on UK high streets. They said: ‘Local people will actually have more of an input into whether or not those shops should open in the first place, giving them a proper say about how their high streets should look.’
As it stands, vape shops fall into the same planning category as shops, cafes and banks, meaning they can generally open without making a new planning application. What’s more, the government is considering a tighter definition of a ‘vape shop’ to prevent businesses from calling them a convenience store.
Burnham said UK high streets have become ‘unrecognisable’ adding: ‘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.’
Commenting on the government announcement, Cllr Eamonn O’Brien, chair of the Local Government Association, said: ‘Planning is about shaping communities, providing the right kind of economic activity and public services for the people that use them, and ensuring the right decisions are made on issues that matter to residents.
‘It is positive that councils and communities will get a greater say on what shops and services are found on their high streets through these changes to the Use Class Order which will require vape shops to acquire planning permission.
‘The LGA has consistently raised that some permitted development rights, which allow uses to change without planning permission, can hollow out high streets and reduce community and democratic oversight of planning decisions.’
Jamie Gollings, deputy research director at the Social Marker Foundation, also welcomed the news. He said: ‘This is a significant and welcome step for local democracy and thriving communities.
‘Councils know their high streets better than anyone, yet the ‘aim to permit’ rule has meant they’ve had very little real say over what opens on them. Our research made clear that these venues are proliferating in the poorest communities, are linked to anti-social behaviour, and often fail the basic tests of fairness and harm prevention set out in the Gambling Act itself.’
Image: Franco Alani/UnSplash
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