Support
New Local Plan
Representation ID: 3411
Received: 21/03/2019
Respondent: Southend Borough Council - Regulatory Services
The Southend 2050 plan states that : ‘Healthy living planning can influence the environment and also promote healthier lifestyles. We need to embed health into all planning policies.’ Central government states in the Childhood Obesity Plan that it will assist planning inspectors in this regard. This is therefore the time to take the initiative and tackle obesity using the Planning system.
In Southend 8.2% of our 4-5 year olds are starting primary school obese and this rapidly increases to 17.9% by the time they are leaving in Year 6 (10-11years). There are 198 fast food takeaways in Southend-on-Sea which represents 109.6 fast food outlets per 100,000 population. This is significantly greater than the overall England average 96.5 per 100,000 population.
In Southend, the highest concentration of fast food outlets are in Milton (n=42) and Victoria ward (n=23). These wards also represent our most obese 4-5 year olds and 10-11 year olds in Southend, respectively
We need to take this into consideration if we intend to achieve our 2050 Southend ambitions, particularly to ‘protect the most vulnerable in our community’.
Do we want Southend to have the highest concentration of fast food restaurants in Essex and be known as Essex's fattest town?
The new Planning Practice Guidance states that local authorities are encouraged to use planning to restrict fast food outlets, particularly where there are high concentrations of outlets in a specified area, high levels of obesity and deprivation and where young people congregate. 40 authorities have introduced Supplementary Planning Documents to restrict growth of takeaways and fast food outlets (source: Public Health England) An example of this is Gateshead and Newcastle where all takeaway planning applications must include a Health Impact Assessment. Another example of good practice is in Luton where plans have been approved to limit fast food takeaways near schools. Milton Keynes is also restricting hot food takeaways near schools. The Mayor of London has announced that new takeaways will be restricted within 400m of schools. Section 8 of the National Planning Policy Framework talks about healthier living by enabling and supporting healthy lifestyles and access to healthier food. Southend must be progressive in the pursuit of a healthier vision for the town or risk failing in the delivery of the United Nations Sustainability Development Goals - Good Health and Well-being and Reduced Inequalities, and consequently the Local Plan. Two of the outcomes of the Local Plan are Safe and Well and Opportunity and Prosperity – a high number of junk food establishments and the associated image and sometimes anti-social behaviour that they may attract are the opposite of these goals. Is an obvious failure to achieve these outcomes due to poor Planning policy really what we want to see as the headline in the Echo?
The Southend 2050 plan states that : ‘Healthy living planning can influence the environment and also promote healthier lifestyles. We need to embed health into all planning policies.’ Central government states in the Childhood Obesity Plan that it will assist planning inspectors in this regard. This is therefore the time to take the initiative and tackle obesity using the Planning system.
In Southend 8.2% of our 4-5 year olds are starting primary school obese and this rapidly increases to 17.9% by the time they are leaving in Year 6 (10-11years). There are 198 fast food takeaways in Southend-on-Sea which represents 109.6 fast food outlets per 100,000 population. This is significantly greater than the overall England average 96.5 per 100,000 population.
In Southend, the highest concentration of fast food outlets are in Milton (n=42) and Victoria ward (n=23). These wards also represent our most obese 4-5 year olds and 10-11 year olds in Southend, respectively
We need to take this into consideration if we intend to achieve our 2050 Southend ambitions, particularly to ‘protect the most vulnerable in our community’.
Do we want Southend to have the highest concentration of fast food restaurants in Essex and be known as Essex's fattest town?
The new Planning Practice Guidance states that local authorities are encouraged to use planning to restrict fast food outlets, particularly where there are high concentrations of outlets in a specified area, high levels of obesity and deprivation and where young people congregate. 40 authorities have introduced Supplementary Planning Documents to restrict growth of takeaways and fast food outlets (source: Public Health England) An example of this is Gateshead and Newcastle where all takeaway planning applications must include a Health Impact Assessment. Another example of good practice is in Luton where plans have been approved to limit fast food takeaways near schools. Milton Keynes is also restricting hot food takeaways near schools. The Mayor of London has announced that new takeaways will be restricted within 400m of schools. Section 8 of the National Planning Policy Framework talks about healthier living by enabling and supporting healthy lifestyles and access to healthier food. Southend must be progressive in the pursuit of a healthier vision for the town or risk failing in the delivery of the United Nations Sustainability Development Goals - Good Health and Well-being and Reduced Inequalities, and consequently the Local Plan. Two of the outcomes of the Local Plan are Safe and Well and Opportunity and Prosperity – a high number of junk food establishments and the associated image and sometimes anti-social behaviour that they may attract are the opposite of these goals. Is an obvious failure to achieve these outcomes due to poor Planning policy really what we want to see as the headline in the Echo?