How does a concern for proliferation of less healthy food establishments relate to planning policy?

As we learnt in Week 2, the National Planning Policy Framework makes it clear that planning policy and decision making should address health and wellbeing, including access to healthier food. Public health guidance suggests creating a healthier food environment through the planning system and supporting local businesses and workplaces to provide healthier food and drink will help enable people to access healthier options (1).

Hot food takeaways (which sell hot food primarily for consumption off the premises) are one example of retail uses that can be the subject of local planning controls. Takeaway food is typically high in calories and high in saturated fat, sugar, and salt (2), (3). It can represent a low-cost option to the consumer, which may enhance its appeal to children and other consumers who have lower incomes (4). In the UK, 27% of adults and 19% of children eat meals out of the home at least once a week, and takeaway food consumption is highest in young adults aged between 19 to 29 years old (5). Evidence shows that regular consumption of takeaway food over time has been linked to weight gain (6).

Hot food takeaways are often co-located with other potentially less healthy land uses, such as betting shops, or drinking establishments which sell alcohol. Therefore, there are often additional benefits for planning controls for hot food takeaways which are relevant to other local policy objectives, including public orders issues relating to anti-social behaviour, noise impact, refuse, litter and undesirable odours.

A census of local planning authorities by the University of Cambridge identified that 50.5% had supplementary planning document guidance or policies in their local plan specifically addressing hot food takeaways. However, only 34.1% of these were focussed on health and the rest were focused on amenity issues such as approaches to minimise anti-social behaviour and litter (7).