A policy which limits the number of take aways in Birmingham has come under fire from city planners.
But bizarrely some have claimed the three-year-old policy is too relaxed and needs tightening up, while others claimed it is too rigid and needs to be more flexible.
The policy limits the number of fish and chip, kebab, pizza, burger, fried chicken, Chinese and Indian take aways in a shopping parade to ten per cent of total retail space and was drawn up after councillors saw large numbers of shops being replaced with the fast food outlets.
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First the planning committee refused permission for a take away to open in a corner shop unit at Dorrington Road, Great Barr as there is another shop unit along the parade with permission - although it is not currently open.
Coun Keith Linnecor (Lab, Oscott) claimed that as the other take away is closed, they should be lenient on the policy and allow this new unit to open. “We need to review the policy, it needs to be more flexibile. It is better to have a take away than an empty shop,” he said.
But then councillors allowed a take away in the empty Village Pantry shop unit in Walmley Road, Sutton Coldfield, even though some argued it took them over the ten per cent allowance.
The debate was whether the nearby Indian Chef restaurant, which has a take away facility, should be included in the total and planning officers argued that as it was not the primary business, it should not.
Coun Maureen Cornish (Cons, Sutton New Hall) said: “As far as I am concerned the maximum ten per cent has been reached. The take away element in a restaurant should not be ignored.”
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Chief planning officer Richard Goulborn told councillors that the application complied with the policy, but suggested that if there are concerns they could review an amend the policy at some point.
Coun Barry Henley (Lab, Brandwood) said that the policy is probably correct. “We have in one case a complaint that the policy is too restrictive and in another someone saying it is too liberal. We have to conclude that we probably have it just right.”
Under the policy planners can also reject an application if schools within 400 metres of the take away can also object, due to concerns over childhood obesity. But in the Walmley Road case the nearby Deanery School raised no concerns.