A London council has shut down a new fast-food outlet because it was too close to a school. It is the first local authority in Britain to take such action. The outlet did not have planning permission – and would not get it.
A council officer told the BBC that “a lot of fast food outlets do their business with schoolchildren, in competition with the healthy schools agenda. Obesity is a big problem for young people and we’ve got to… use all the power we have to deal with that.”
Earlier this year, Waltham Forest Council became the first Council in Britain to ban all new fast food outlets from opening within 400 metres of schools, parks and leisure centres. It has also introduced restrictions to limit the number of outlets in residential areas and town centres.
Read more: BBC news, 20 Apr 2009