The Prime Minister has announced a crackdown on vape shops, betting firms and rogue businesses that have “hollowed out” Britain’s high streets.
New planning rules
Under the proposed changes, e-cigarette outlets and gambling venues will be required to obtain planning permission before opening. Councils will also gain new powers to block betting shops more easily.
The move follows data from the Centre for Social Justice showing that since 2016, Britain has lost nearly 1,800 pubs and bars, while almost 2,200 vape and tobacco shops have opened.
Stronger enforcement
Police and councils will receive tougher powers to shut rogue businesses linked to organised crime. Closure orders will be extended from six months to a year, preventing illegal vape shops, dodgy barber shops, and other suspect premises from reopening during investigations.
Mr Burnham said: “For many people, the high streets they grew up with have been hollowed out and become unrecognisable over decades of decline. The rise of vape shops, betting shops and rogue operators have replaced the shops, services and community spaces that people are crying out for. That’s not on. I said we would improve Britain’s high streets, and that’s exactly what we are starting to do.”
Industry response
The Betting and Gaming Council responded: “We support tough action against criminal operators and agree local people should have a proper say over their high streets. But the suggestion that betting shops are spreading unchecked is simply wrong. Betting shop numbers have fallen by over a third since 2019. Around 3,000 shops have closed and over 15,000 jobs have already been lost. It is wrong to lump highly regulated, licensed betting shops together with rogue or criminal businesses. Betting shops still support 37,500 jobs, bring vital footfall to neighbouring businesses and, for many customers, are valued community hubs. The real threat to Britain’s hard-pressed high streets is more empty units and fewer local jobs, not businesses rooted in the communities they serve.”
Support from officials
Housing Secretary Angela Rayner said the “problems have built up over years” and pledged the government “won’t leave councils and communities powerless to crackdown on everyday eyesores that blight our high streets.”
Joshua Nicholson, of the Centre for Social Justice, welcomed the move, claiming that Britain’s high streets have been “hijacked by a growing number of dodgy vape shops, mini marts, and barbers”.
Eamonn O'Brien, chairman of the Local Government Association, said: “Extra powers will help councils in revitalising high streets and shaping their communities, particularly in regulating betting and vaping shops, while also breathing new life in to empty premises.”
