Council bans takeaways near schools

Members of St Helens Council agreed to the halt on fast food outlets around schools in a bid to cut down on the “growing problem” of obesity.

The Merseyside council said the number of “vastly overweight people” across the borough was now topping 20,000 and that the estimated cost to the local health system was £3.6m.

Councillors heard that the borough has 161 hot food takeaways.

Fast food outlets banned from the exclusion zones include kebab shops, Chinese, Indian and pizza takeaways, fish and chip and fried chicken shops.

Those not affected include restaurants, cafes, bistros, pubs, wine bars, nightclubs and sandwich bars. The exclusion zones will be managed via the current planning application system.

Councillors agreed that there was a need to protect retail areas from “takeaway clusters” which had an adverse effect.

Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Health, Councillor Joe Pearson, added: “This sends a clear message that we intend to address the serious issues of poor diet and obesity to improve the health of the borough.”