Communities at risk of poor health will be protected from being targeted with highly processed food that is high in fat, sugar and salt and is lacking in nutrients.
Aim
Context
The Issues
Unhealthy food is prolific in the high street; it is often more difficult to access healthy food.
Areas of deprivation are targeted with highly processed, food high in fat, sugar and salt, lacking in nutrients.
The ability to access healthier food is a social issue as well as a public health issue.
In some retail areas there is a proliferation of phantom cafes / dark kitchens. There is a legal planning issue which needs to be resolved: at what point does a retail unit / Class E / restaurant / cafe become a hot food takeaway, needing permission.
The rise in the online ordering industry with food delivery apps.
Policy Principles
Options
Control hot food takeaways within close proximity of premises where children or young people meet, such as;
- Primary schools
- Secondary schools
- Sixth form colleges
- Community centres / youth clubs / Madrassas
- Parks / sports fields / playgrounds
- Leisure centres
- Town centres and district shopping parades
- Transport interchanges
Place conditions on new retail units to restrict hybrid use whereby hot food to takeaway is available and becomes a dominant use;
Attach informative notes to planning consents promoting healthier options;
Investigate how regulations in the physical food environment can be widened to the online food delivery environment.
Strategic Objectives
- sustainable development
- climate
- biodiversity
- green infra-structure landscape
- health
- economy
- housing
- design
- education
Evidence
Environmental health records (Locations of hot food takeaways & other retail premises selling takeaway food)
Local Public Health data
Health and Wellbeing Boards
Health inequalities maps
Map of food deserts / access to healthy food
Identification of priority areas of deprivation
Surveys of child behaviour, eating habits, nutritional values of their diet
Involvement of schools: policies on children leaving school during the day, adequacy of dining areas to cater for the school population on site.
Local Government Association Child obesity dataset helps make the case for local healthier food.
Priority Places for Food Index is The Consumer Data Research Centre map of neighbourhood health across the UK, based on levels of healthy ‘assets’ and ‘hazards’. These include the retail environment (such as prevalence of pubs and fast food, tobacco, and gambling outlets).
The Obesity Profile presents the latest available data to help understand and monitor the patterns and trends in obesity at national, regional, and local levels in England: https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/profile/national-child-measurement-programme
Further information
The classification of Use Classes brought the control of hot food takeaways under more planning control.
| Class E – Commercial, Business and Service |
| E(b) Sale of food and drink for consumption (mostly) on the premises |
| Sui Generis |
| Hot food takeaways (for the sale of hot food where consumption of that food is mostly undertaken off the premises) |
NPPF 2024 introduced policy to control hot food takeaways outside designated town centres.
Tackling obesity: empowering adults and children to live healthier lives (National Obesity Strategy 2020)
Fair society, healthy lives: the Marmot Review: strategic review of health inequalities in England post-2010
Public Health England, Spatial Planning for Health: an evidence resource for planning and designing healthier places, (2017)
Emerging research on hot food takeaway restrictions around school zones: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1353829224000650
Managing takeaways near schools: a toolkit for local authorities
https://zenodo.org/records/13341617
https://www.mrc-epid.cam.ac.uk/evaluation-planning-policy-takeaway/resources-and-information-for-policy-practice/
https://www.mrc-epid.cam.ac.uk/research/studies/evaluation-planning-policy-takeaway/publications/
https://www.cedar.iph.cam.ac.uk/resources/
CEDAR FEAT tool https://www.feat-tool.org.uk/
Evaluation of the use of planning policy in Gateshead to control hot food takeaways in support of public health (2022) https://arc-nenc.nihr.ac.uk/news/putting-the-brakes-on-fast-food/
The Recipe 4 Health Award promotes businesses that focus on healthy eating, environmental issues, and social responsibility. Recipe 4 Health is a Lancashire Trading Standards scheme for caterers. At each level, businesses must demonstrate compliance with food safety, food standards, licensing and age restricted sales legislation. Businesses must have an awareness of healthy eating, environmental issues, allergens and alcohol issues. https://www.lancashire.gov.uk/business/trading-standards/recipe-4-health-award/
Sustain’s (2019) guide for Councils draws on the experience of planning authorities in collecting evidence to support and defend planning policies to restrict new hot food takeaways. Identifies concentration of premises selling HFSS products (high in fat, sugar and salt) in socially disadvantaged areas.
Implementation
Planning Tools
- local plan policies
- additional guidance
- design codes
- masterplans
- planning applications
Implementation methods by external and internal partners
Planning enforcement
Environmental Health
Business Associations
Collaboration with local businesses on reducing poor quality food supply to children and young people; availability of children’s portions, quality mark schemes etc.
Compile and disseminate educational material for schools (Bite Back is a youth activist movement challenging a food system https://www.biteback2030.com/;
School Food Matters teaches children about food and aims to improve children’s access to healthy, sustainable food during their time at school.
Food Active KS3 level GULP lesson plans.
Monitoring
How can we measure success?
The number of applications refused as well as won at appeal for restricting a hot food takeaway.
Planning permission being linked to signing up or paying for food quality marks, such as the Healthier Catering Commitment or Recipe 4 Health Award.
The Food environment assessment tool (Feat) enables detailed exploration of the geography of food retail access across England, Scotland and Wales. It is designed around the needs of professionals in public health, environmental health and planning roles, locally and nationally. Can be used to map, measure and monitor access to food outlets at a neighbourhood level, including changes over time.
In Knowsley, a threshold table on hot food takeaways illustrates how each centre is performing related to their respective percentage threshold (Town Centres 5%, district, major and medium local centres and local shopping centres/ parades 10%). This allows the Planning Policy Team to see whether the desired outcomes set out in the SPD are being achieved. Restrictions reduced to these levels in 2022. HFT planning applications require input from Public Health.
Case studies
Sefton published their supplementary planning document on Control of Hot Food Takeaways and Betting Shops in 2017. https://www.sefton.gov.uk/media/2832/spd-control-takeaways-betting-shops.pdf
St Helens Borough Local Plan Policy LPD10: Food and Drink, requires hot food takeaways to be located within a defined town centre, and prohibits such development within a 400m exclusion zone measured from any primary or secondary school or sixth form college.
Hot food takeaway requirements advice for applicants.
Cheshire West and Chester Council has produced a guidance note and checklist that provides further information to assist applicants in addressing the requirements of Local Plan (Part One) policy SOC 5 Health and wellbeing and Local Plan (Part Two) policy DM 29 Health impacts of new development.
To help assess planning application against the policy and avoid any delays applicants must to submit the following information to support your application:
- Location map identifying surrounding hot food take away uses
- A statement setting out whether the application site is within a ward of high childhood obesity and an area of high multiple deprivation
- An assessment of odour and noise that is compliant with BS4142
- Site plan detailing the type and location of waste storage
The Hot food takeaways guidance note explains all of these requirements in more detail. https://consult.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk/resources/portal/supportingfiles/767042
Blackburn with Darwen Council has appended an informative note to the decision notice for a hot food takeaway regarding healthy food:
“The Council has a core priority to improve the health and wellbeing. As such, it is strongly advised that the hot food takeaway becomes an award holder of the Recipe 4 Health scheme.”
https://bewellbwd.com/a-z-services/recipe-4-health/
https://www.lancashire.gov.uk/business/trading-standards/recipe-4-health-award/
The Blackpool Healthier Choices award scheme is available to food establishments located in Blackpool with a food hygiene rating of 3 or above. The Healthier Choices award is all about giving customers the option to eat healthier food. The Junior Healthier Choices award is about supporting parents and providing a healthier start for Blackpool children.
https://www.blackpool.gov.uk/Business/Business-support-and-advice/Healthier-Choices-Award.aspx