Prime Minister Andy Burnham has announced that councils are to be given greater powers to stop vape shops and betting shops as part of a response to the condition of town centres.
The announcement is framed around concerns that local high streets have suffered long-term decline. Burnham said town centres had been “hollowed out” over decades, linking the proposed powers to the wider state of local shopping areas and community spaces.
Under the plan, councils would receive more authority to intervene when vape shops and betting shops are proposed. The source material does not set out the precise mechanism for those powers, the timetable for implementation or whether the measures would apply across all local authority areas.
The proposal places local government at the centre of decisions about the make-up of town centres. It signals an intention to give councils a stronger role in shaping local retail environments where they judge particular types of premises to be unsuitable.
The latest stated position is that the government intends to expand council powers in this area, with further detail still needed on how the policy would operate in practice.
