Fast-food takeaways to be banned near schools

Planning applications for hot food takeaways and fast-food outlets will be refused if they lie within 400m (1,300ft) of a school, a council has said.

Last summer, a report for Southend-on-Sea City Council found that 33.8% of children were obese or overweight by the time they left primary school.

On 13 July, the council's cabinet approved the recommendations in its annual public health report 2025-26.

Fast food exclusion zones of 400m have already been implemented in other parts of the UK.

Maxine Sadza, the Labour cabinet member for social care and healthier communities, said the impact of obesity on children's health could not be ignored.

The council has referred to the exclusion zone as a "ban" and as a "battle against the bulge".

"Supporting families to make healthier choices remains vital, but we also need to ensure the environments around our schools support good health," said Sadza.

There are 219 fast food outlets in Southend, according to the council, which is above the national average for the size of its population.

The latest Southend local plan - which dictates where developments will happen in the borough until 2040 and beyond - already recommends a 400m exclusion zone.

Southend's director of public health, Dr Krishna Ramkhelawon, explained that there was a higher density of fast food outlets close to more "disadvantaged communities".

Action was needed because it was clear the council was "not winning the battle" against obesity, he said.

Obesity cases among people in their 20s in England increased by 16% in the five years up to 2024-25, according to a study published in the Lancet last month.

Southend nutritionist Genesis Ali told BBC Essex breakfast presenter Sonia Watson that he had heard of pupils ordering takeaways to the front gates.

He said parents were the "gatekeepers", but that the exclusion zone was "a positive step in the right direction".

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