Andy Burnham has announced plans to give local councils greater control over what businesses open on high streets, requiring new vape shops to apply for planning permission and scrapping rules that restrict councils from blocking new betting shops.

The prime minister said town centres had been “hollowed out” by decades of decline, with “the rise of vape shops, betting shops and rogue operators” replacing “the shops, services, and community spaces that people are crying out for.”

Under the proposals, every new vape shop in England will need planning permission from their local council, with the definition of a vape shop tightened to prevent businesses avoiding the rules by describing themselves as general convenience stores. The “aim to permit” rule — which currently limits councils’ ability to refuse new betting shops and 24-hour slot machine shops — will be scrapped across Great Britain. New adult gaming centres offering round-the-clock access to gambling machines will also require planning permission in England. Closure orders for mini-marts and vape shops found selling illegal tobacco will be extended to up to 12 months.

The announcement comes after an 18-month BBC News investigation exposed organised crime on high streets across the country, including drug dealing, money laundering, illegal working, child sexual exploitation and Kurdish organised crime gangs operating the length of Britain. The National Crime Agency estimates at least £1bn of criminal cash is laundered through high street stores each year.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood had previously launched an NCA-led investigation in response to the BBC’s findings, describing the evidence as proof that “the system was broken.”

The Opposition’s View

Conservatives, Reform UK and the Liberal Democrats all questioned whether the measures went far enough without wider action on business rates. Shadow communities secretary Sir James Cleverly said Labour’s business rates increases had left “empty units for whoever is left standing to fill.” Reform’s Robert Jenrick said without scrapping the “jobs tax” and addressing business rates, the policy would “only create even more empty shops.” The Lib Dems called for the business rates system to be scrapped entirely, while the Greens called for rent controls for small businesses.

The Local Government Association welcomed the greater say for councils, while the Betting and Gaming Council said it supported tough action against criminal operators but said it was “simply wrong” to suggest betting shops were spreading “unchecked,” pointing to 3,000 closures since 2019.