New takeaways banned across most of Newcastle

New takeaways will be banned from opening in areas of Newcastle in a bid to tackle obesity rates in the city.

 

Councillors approved a crackdown on hot food venues in a cabinet meeting on Monday.

 

Under the proposals, planners will no longer be able to grant permission to takeaways that are within a 400m radius or a 10-minute walk of schools, parks and community centres.

 

They will also be banned in wards where more than 10% of year 6 pupils are obese, which covers most of the city except the Gosforth and South Jesmond areas.

 

New sites will also be prevented from opening in areas where the number of approved hot food takeaways exceeds the UK national average per 1,000 population.

 

A Newcastle City Council report said two-thirds of adults and 29.1% of children in Newcastle are overweight or obese.

 

It said the policy was part of plans to widen the food choices on offer in more deprived areas of the city where takeaways were more prevalent.

 

Alice Wiseman, director of public health for Newcastle, said: “The council wants to support and encourage people to improve their health and wellbeing through healthy eating and active lifestyles.

 

“In order to do this, multiple interventions are required, including targeting the relationship between the food environment and the weight of the population.

 

“Planning has an important role in shaping healthy communities, and this is just one example of how it can help in the fight against obesity.”

 

The plans will apply to new-build takeaways as well as applications for change of use.

 

Image: Nicoleta_Ionescu / Shutterstock