Fast-food chains to be banned near schools

Waltham Forest has opened a public consultation on the idea and local residents have six weeks to have their say. The new planning guidelines are a result of the Sustainable Community Strategy consultation held earlier this year. People also complained about the noise, litter and anti-social behaviour near these fast food outlets. The proposals will prevent chicken shops, burger bars and similar outlets from opening up within 400 metres of schools, parks and youth centres and restrict their opening hours. Speaking at the launch of the public consultation, Council Leader Cllr Clyde Loakes said: "There are more than enough fast food outlets in this borough and we want to stop any more from opening. Our residents have told us that these types of rules are important for the future of the borough. The bottom line is that residents simply don't have enough choice because of the number of fast food takeaways – we don't want to tell them how to live their lives but we do want to give them the widest possible choice in what they can eat. "We hope our residents agree with what we are trying to do and we can start to make our town centres more attractive places to visit by making them cleaner, safer and providing a better mix of shops, cafes and restaurants." There will also be limits on the number of takeaways allowed in town centres and it will be made harder for the restaurants to open in residential areas. There will also be a clamp down on existing businesses to ensure they obey laws about littering, food hygiene, planning and waste disposal.