At my community meetings, most recently in Woolston and Bitterne, you’ve shared your concerns about the hollowing out of your local high streets and what you see as the proliferation of dodgy shops.
Today, the government has announced that it will be giving councils and communities stronger powers to stop the businesses and eyesores that are not wanted by the local community.
There are quite a few changes and tweaks to various regulations and planning laws, and I won’t list them all here.
But, if I can get technical for a short while, I do think it’s positive that councils and communities will get a greater say on what shops and services are found on their high streets through changes to the Use Class Order which will require vape shops to acquire planning permission.
It’s also good that we’re looking again at permitted development rights, which allow uses to change without planning permission, as these can hollow out high streets and reduce community and democratic oversight of planning decisions.
Finally, I think it’s welcome that closure orders on dodgy businesses will now take effect for 12 months rather than 6. This is something that trading standards professionals have been asking for, and will give them a much better shot at removing organised crime from our high streets and shopping precincts.
And yes, I know that a comprehensive plan to support high streets needs to involve conversations about how we can better support the businesses that our communities rely on. In the last few weeks, there are moves in the right direction locally and nationally, with the promise of more to come. But for now, this is a good step.