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Introduction

Diet-related ill health in the UK is estimated to lead to approximately 70,000 premature deaths annually, representing around 12 per cent of the total number of deaths1.

New analysis has found that the costs of Britain’s unhealthy food system amount to £268 billion every year – almost equivalent to the total annual UK healthcare. This is attributed to the cost of chronic disease in the UK2. An unhealthy diet is strongly associated and causally linked with a number of chronic, complex conditions such as obesity3, cardiovascular disease, some cancers and type II diabetes.

Cancer Research UK states that overweight and obesity is the second biggest cause of cancer in the UK, with more than 1 in 20 cancer cases caused by excess weight, whilst over 40% of specific types of cancers (e.g. breast, bowel, kidney) can be attributed to obesity.

Levels of overweight and obesity have continued to rise in England over the past 30 years and the current prevalence is one of the highest in Europe with the economic cost of obesity estimated at £98 billion (nearly 4 per cent of GDP)4.

Obesity is a complex, chronic and often re-occurring health condition and is determined by a complex range of factors, including diet, physical activity levels, genetics and the food environment. This complexity requires a multi-faceted approach working across a system involving collaborative coordinated actions by a range of partners and with communities to identify the causes of excess weight and to seek solutions.

Cheshire & Merseyside Cancer Alliance Strategic Overweight & Obesity Project 

The Cheshire and Merseyside Cancer Alliance (CMCA) has established a long-term project to address overweight and obesity within the sub-region. The project is delivered by the Public Health Charity – Health Equalities Group and aims is to develop a ‘hub’ of connectivity, bringing together system leaders and stakeholders, including non-health stakeholders such as planning, housing, transport, employers and charity/voluntary sector organisations, to increase the overall volume and reach of preventative actions designed to reduce prevalence of overweight and obesity within the sub-region.

A key work package for the project concerns the use of local authority planning levers to develop healthier weight environments. Councils have a significant opportunity to use their role as local planning authorities to the full, drawing on the legislative and regulatory provisions of the planning system, and its specific applicability to key issues affecting prevalence of overweight and obesity such as the food environment and promotion of active environments. This is recognised in national policies including the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and the National Design Guide 2021. The NPPF confirms the importance of Local Plans and planning decisions in healthier food environments.

Rationale for the development of a sub-regional planning and food environments toolkit 

The planning process can help to create healthier spaces for communities. The ability to access healthier food is a social issue as well as a public health issue. It can be easier to access unhealthy food in many neighbourhoods and more of challenge to live in a healthy food neighbourhood.

A neighbourhood that prioritises healthier food connects food growers, producers, and consumers. Planning can help to control the proliferation of unhealthy food as well as encourage access to healthy food. Supportive planning policies can encourage good food businesses that meet objectives around healthier food access as well as other ethical considerations such as inequalities and climate change.

Tackling access to food can meet several corporate objectives including physical and mental health, climate change, community cohesion, inequality, biodiversity and education.

The Local Plan, Development Management Policies, Design Codes, site-based development frameworks and planning advice notes are just some of the tools available, which, along with the National Planning Policy Framework, can support local access to healthier and sustainable food environments.

How the planning process can transform local food systems to prioritise health and the health of our planet.

With careful design, vibrant and healthy neighbourhoods can be created. This means considering all levers on the food system from “field to fork”.

The multiple benefits include:

  • improved health and wellbeing; 5 6
  • inclusive and social communities; 7
  • environment and nature recovery8 and sustainability, including resilience to climate change; 9
  • opportunities for economic development, investment and skills development and rejuvenation of high streets ; 10
  • improved amenity and good urban design; 11
  • support for productive use of land in the city, urban fringe12 and countryside.13
  • contribution to biodiversity and other natural capital gains (such as flood alleviation, soil protection) in and around developments integrated as part of their design, securing measurable net gains for biodiversity.14
  • allowing local supply chains of growers, producers and retailers whereby farmers get a fair price for their produce, local businesses employ local people and local consumers build relationships with producers. 15
  • Providing educational opportunities to learn about growing and eating healthy food. 16 17

How to use this toolkit

This co-produced, bespoke toolkit aims to support planning authorities embed effective local policies that can positively impact on promoting access to healthy, sustainable and affordable food.

The toolkit provides a suite of planning policy options, supported by information and case studies. The toolkit also identifies potential partners to engage with to achieve change on the ground.

Different policy options will be appropriate in different local areas; across the Cheshire and Merseyside sub-region as a whole, they provide a vision on how the planning system could contribute to a more sustainable, healthy food environment. Some of these policies are already in place in the local planning authorities; other policy options have been inspired by local planning authorities from further afield.

Local planning authorities across the country are welcome to use this toolkit to develop their own policies for a healthy food environment.

Councils cannot achieve this vision through the planning system alone. However, to change the food environment, they must, at least, use the planning tools they already have in their power.

Planning Tools

Planning Policy Tools