The Toolkit: contributing to a strategic vision for the sub-region in building healthier food environments

This toolkit has been developed to support local planning authorities, public health teams, and wider stakeholders consider the creation of healthier places and communities through the National Planning Policy Framework, with a specific focus on contributing to healthier and sustainable food environments.

The ability to access healthier food is a social issue as well as a public health issue. Creating improved food environments can contribute to a number of strategic objectives and areas of the councils work across a range of departments which requires cross-collaboration, cross boundary working and a unified vision and approach. The ‘Food Policy and Planning Toolkit’ has been produced by the nine local authorities across Cheshire & Merseyside through consultation and co-development.

Using the toolkit:

The toolkit aims to offer the ways in which planning can be used to create healthier food environments through providing information on the range of policy tools and policy options that might be utilised by local planning authorities, drawing on the legislative and regulatory provisions of the planning system, and its specific applicability to the food environment.

Different policy options will be appropriate in different local areas some of these policies are already in place in the local planning authorities within the sub-region; other policy options have been inspired by local planning authorities from further afield and case studies are included throughout. The virtual nature of this resource enables users to navigate to those aspects of planning policy of most relevance.

With thanks; this toolkit draws on the insights and expertise from planning and public health officers within Cheshire East Council, Cheshire West & Chester Council, Halton Council, Knowsley Council, Liverpool Council, Sefton Council, St Helens Council, Warrington Council and Wirral Council.