According to today’s Guardian:
A council plans to ban new takeaways opening within 400 metres of schools, youth centres and parks to help combat child obesity and promote healthy eating.
Waltham Forest council, east London, also wants to bring in new planning rules to limit the number of fast food outlets in shopping parades and restrict their opening hours.
The council is one of the first local authorities in Britain to propose such restrictions, which were suggested in the government’s obesity strategy. Knowsley council, Liverpool, has also asked planning officers to consider restricting fast food outlets…….
The article has provoked more than 50 comments
Should Rochford be considering this???
This sounds a bit like shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted.
Councils would not have to consider these sort of measures if they had not sold off playing fields in order to build housing estates.
Christtine
I agree 100% with your comments
Our council has already implemented this scheme but shut the Parks and sold off the playing fields so they can build takeaways anywhere.
Once the council implement their ill concieved plans for housing in Rayleigh and Rawreth with no regard for infastructure or social impacts , we can all meet up on the 10 foot square piece of green grass left in Rayleigh and Rawreth and discuss the obesity strategy.
The only sport left will be a game of Sardines
Should Rochford be considering this???
YES!
It’s not all about obesity, and there are plenty of green spaces in Rochford for people to use if they choose to and to my knowledge there are no plans to build on public amenity sites, plans are for brown field and green belt sites – not open for public use.
It’s also about not encouraging anti-social behaviour…
For instance how many kids actually use Sweyne Park for serious exercise? How many use the park simply to hang around, drink alcohol, litter, vandalise or even intimidate others that do want to use the park properly?
These problems will only intensify when the CORAL PROJECT parade of shops opens on Rawreth Lane with its inevitable hot-food take-aways…Waltham Forest Council are to be congratulated in my oppinion. Well done to them.