Council planning policy says there cannot be more than three takeaways within 400 metres of each other, reports Nick Clark, Local Democracy Reporter

Two separate takeaways have been blocked from opening in East Ham’s fast food “hotspots”.

Newham Council refused to grant planning permission to the takeaways in High Street South and Barking Road.

Planning officers said one was already in an “identified hot food takeaway hotspot” and so “exacerbates the overconcentration of hot food takeaway uses in the area”.

Big Mummy’s Kitchen applied for planning permission to use 277 High Street South as a hot food takeaway in March this year.

The Afro-Caribbean takeaway opened as long ago as 2021, but didn’t have planning permission to change the use of the property. The address was previously the officer for a builder’s firm.

The council issued an enforcement notice against the change of use in February this year. The owner then applied for planning permission to change the address’s use to a takeaway retrospectively.

However, in an assessment this month, planning officers said there were already too many takeaways nearby.

Council planning policy says there cannot be more than three takeaways within 400 metres of each other. It also says there can’t be more than two takeaways directly next to each other.

Officers said the change of use breached both of these rules – as numbers 271, 279 and 281 are also takeaways.

They said this “undermines the council’s objectives of promoting healthy lifestyles, reducing health inequalities and creating healthy neighbourhoods”.

Planning officers refused to grant permission for a takeaway at 151-153 Barking Road on the same basis.

The address was previously the MM bar, but this closed around six years ago.

A council planning officers’ report says it has since been operating as a café or restaurant, despite the fact that planning permission was refused for this in 2019.

The property’s owner, I Khan, applied for planning permission to use the building as a takeaway in March. But a planning officer’s report again says there too many other takeaways nearby.

It said: “Notably, there are already three premises directly opposite the application site (currently operating as Domino’s, Peri Peri and Papa John’s).

“A review of the council’s spatial planning maps indicates ten hot food takeaway premises within a 400m radius overlap of the application site already in use.”

The council refused planning permission for both takeaways last Thursday (4th).

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