Takeaways banned near schools

Added on 01/03/10

Author: Graham Pembrey

At the beginning of the year, London Mayor Boris Johnson backed plans to ban takeaways located near to schools. Now local authorities are beginning to act on this idea.

First Waltham Forest, in east London, began to reject planning applications for fast-food restaurants within 400 meters of schools, and now at least 15 other councils around London have pledged to follow suit in what Jack Winkler, director of the Nutrition Policy Unit at London Metropolitan University has called an “invisible revolution” in British food culture.

The expert applauded the takeaway ban for being an unobtrusive, subtle way to lead people towards a healthier diet.

Outside of London too, councils are using innovative tactics to reduce childhood obesity. In Leicester, chip and burger vans have been banned from parking outside of schools. Gateshead council’s pioneering idea of providing chip shops with new salt shakers – that have half the number of holes – is now being emulated in other areas. And in Liverpool, several takeaways have signed up to ‘Eatright Liverpool’, a scheme to bring in healthier menus.

The Food Standards agency is also working with 80 chip shops in Greater Manchester and Northern Ireland, helping them to make their fried potatoes healthier by changing the thickness of their chips, the temperature of the cooking oil and the size of the portions.

In June, councils will meet at a conference in West Bromwich to discuss their ideas about reducing childhood obesity.

It is hoped these strategies will be a useful weapon in Britain’s fight against childhood obesity, an epidemic that is having an impact on one third of Britain’s children. With only 11.5% of parents recognising when their children are obese, raising awareness is vital.