Close Menu
    Residents handed power to veto vape shops
    United Kingdom

    Residents handed power to veto vape shops

    Share.
    View 14 Comments

    14 Comments

    1. StreamWave190 on

      >Locals will be given powers to block new vaping and gambling shops under a town planning shake-up to be unveiled by Sir Keir Starmer next week.

      >The Prime Minister will announce a radical overhaul of decision making to give people more control over the stores opening on their high streets.

      >Under the reforms, communities will be able to veto “unwanted” businesses, which could also include Turkish barbers and American sweet shops.

      >Neighbourhoods will have powers to limit the number of any particular type of store located within a certain area.

      >Spearheaded by [Steve Reed](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/steve-reed), the new Communities Secretary, the plans represent the first major salvo in No 10’s fight back against Reform UK.

      >In his [first interview](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2025/09/20/britain-is-being-pulled-apart-says-housing-secretary/) since replacing Angela Rayner in the role, he acknowledged that many people felt their local communities were broken.

      >“The country is not working for far too many people who are in it, people and regions are not sharing in Britain’s prosperity equally,” he told The Sunday Telegraph.

      >[…]

      >Sir Keir is expected to unveil the proposals during a speech on Thursday, in which he will commit significant new funding to left behind areas.

      >In the address, the Prime Minister will set out how the reforms will be implemented, which is expected to see more responsibility being devolved to councils.

      >Local authorities are also set to be handed beefed up powers so that they can more quickly take control of boarded up shops and lease them to new businesses.

      >The reforms will not ban any particular type of store, but they are intended to give communities more say over the make up of their high streets.

      That’s your fill of good news for the week, folks.

    3. pafrac on

      Bit late, no? There’s at least 3 in my local high street already. Plus an equal number of Turkish barbers and nail salons.

    4. Impossible-Bar8099 on

      Sounds OK but ultimately will just end up being the wet dream of all NIMBYs up and down the country.

    6. JonC534 on

      Oh no how will we ever solve the dire vape shop shortage now 😂

      Damn nimby locals making my life miserable!

    8. Talysn on

      why? why should people have a veto over what legal business is operating from a unit?

      This is absurd.

      There is a reason these things proliferate, because nothing else is viable….I really think its not the place of gov, and certainly not the place of “residents” to police what legitimate business operates from a unit.

    9. cartesian5th on

      Ah yeah, enabling nimbys, this is just what the country needs atm, to be beholden to perochial whims

      Typical unimaginative Labour shite as usual. People have a problem? Ban whatever it is that seems to cause the problem

    10. Just-Brown on

      How long until this power is used by locals with an agenda to stop the opening of many legitimate businesses just because they don’t like the people that run them?

    11. thorny_business on

      In the 1940s, the Labour government passed the Distribution of Industry Act, whereby the government could veto where anyone could operate a business. It caused untold economic damage to Britain and was ultimately repealed. Labour are repeating all the mistakes of the post war era. They just don’t like business.

    12. Overgrown_fetus1305 on

      I’m seeing some critiques about this being likely to cause even emptier high streets. I’d argue that something which will help the high streets, is people having more disposable income. Letting shops whose core business model is addictive products (gambling or vape shops) does the opposite, so I think this is a good move honestly.

      Ideally if we want to restore the high street, we need to tackle everything moving to online (read, it’s time to massively up the taxes on Amazon etc), but as described this bill sounds like a good idea. Even if it’s no silver bullet. I’d fwiw still rather have empty shops to vape shops and commercial gambling, though; if I had my way, I’d ban commercial gambling and seriously regulate the vaping industry tbh.

    13. Thebritishdovah on

      In my town, it feels like we have suspiciously always empty and same style barbers that can afford to have barely any customers, vape shops.

      Literally top of the high street and the bottom.