Latest news with #planningregulations
BBC News
a day ago
- Business
- BBC News
Redcar Council calls for restrictions on nail and beauty salons
A local authority is calling on the government to change planning regulations to "take back control" of high streets.A unanimous motion from Redcar and Cleveland councillors expressed concern about a "growing concentration" of barbers, nail shops and beauty salons as well as councillor David Taylor said 25 of the 47 shops in his Eston ward fell into that category. He said that if control was not taken there was a risk of losing "variety and vibrancy" which made the area worth "visiting and investing in". Reform of national planning guidance in 2020 merged a wide range of commercial uses into category E, removing the need for planning permission for many new said at the time it was a sensible measure during the Covid pandemic to support the survival of council said it would write to the government to ask it to consider removing barber shops, nail bars and beauty salons from category E, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said. 'Get a grip' Taylor said his motion was not an attack on local businesses, but about "returning planning decisions to where they belong with local authorities and the community".Council leader, Alec Brown, said his Labour group would support the motion, although it called it "very un-Conservative" since it sought to interfere with the free councillor Paul Salvin said what was being discussed was a country-wide issue and about "taking back some control of our high streets".Guisborough councillor Bill Clark, an independent, said he fully supported the said: "The abuse of this [planning use] category is there for all to see in our towns and villages."Let's get a grip of this, if we don't it is going to get worse."
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Call to ‘take back' high streets overrun with barbers, nail shops and salons
Changes to planning regulations are needed to allow local authorities to 'take back control' of high streets, councillors have urged. A motion supported by Redcar and Cleveland councillors expressed concern about a 'growing concentration' of barbers, nail shops and beauty salons in some areas, along with takeaways. Eston ward councillor David Taylor, who successfully proposed the motion, said of 47 retail units in Eston, 25 were of this ilk and included in the category 'Class E' in planning terms. (Image: LDRs) Reform of national planning guidance in 2020 merged a wide range of commercial uses into this category, removing the need for planning permission for many new ventures. Cllr Taylor said at the time it was a sensible measure during the covid-19 pandemic to support the economic survival of businesses wishing to adapt. But the result had been an undermining of the variety and character of many high street environments, which required a balanced mix of places for the public to visit to survive and thrive. Worse still, a number of councillors who lent their backing to the motion referenced fears of criminality and organised gangs infiltrating the high street. Earlier this year the National Crime Agency said businesses such as barber shops, nail bars and vape shops were often fronts for a whole range of criminality, including money laundering, drug trafficking and even modern slavery. It launched a three-week crackdown involving 19 different police forces and regional crime units, raiding premises and making dozens of arrests, as well as seizing illegal goods. Cllr Taylor said his motion was not an attack on local businesses nor to restrict opportunities, but about 'ensuring a better balance and also returning planning decisions to where they belong – with local authorities and the community, not private landlords acting without local input or accountability'. He said: 'Without local control we risk losing the very variety and vibrancy that make our town centres places worth visiting and investing in.' He referenced the new Eston Precinct development now underway which he said was a 'real opportunity to bring in a more vibrant and diverse mix of shops and services' The motion adopted at a meeting will see the council writing to the Government to ask that consideration be given to removing barber shops, nail bars and beauty salons from the Class E use legislation. Local MPs will also be asked to raise the matter with the Department for Housing, Communities and Local Government. Council leader Alec Brown said his Labour group would support the motion, although it called it 'very un-Conservative' since it sought to interfere with the free market. Conservative councillor Paul Salvin said what was being discussed was a country-wide issue and about 'taking back some control of our high streets'. Guisborough councillor Bill Clark, an independent, said he fully supported the motion. He said: 'The abuse of this [planning use] category is there for all to see in our towns and villages. 'Let's get a grip of this, if we don't it is going to get worse.' Cllr Clark also said 'certain types of shops in the town' regularly disregarded rules and regulations in what were conservation areas. Another independent, councillor Wayne Davies, who represents Loftus, said: 'There is far too much criminality involved in some of these types of businesses.' Loftus High Street (Image: LDRs) Cllr Davies also said more enforcement was required from the authorities and the current situation was unfair on many legitimate businesses that had been trading for a long time. Cllr Taylor said: 'Many residents believe that a lot of these properties are owned by the council and it is the council making these decisions.' He also suggested some form of licensing scheme should be in operation for people involved in what he called personal care – for instance hairdressers and salon workers. He said: 'They would be required to have a DBS check and carry a visible licence, similar to those used in the security industry. 'This wouldn't just protect customers, it would also safeguard staff and ensure there's full accountability over who is working where.' The motion was carried unanimously.
Irish Times
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
Concern that buildings developed as creches are being sold as residential homes
Planning guidelines will have to be updated to stop the 'very serious issue' of buildings intended as new childcare facilities being sold off by developers as residential homes. Minister for Children Norma Foley said she is working with Minister for Housing James Browne to try to update planning regulations that are 'not working the way they should be working'. Under the current rules, each development of 75 new homes needs to include a childcare facility with places for at least 20 children. But anecdotal evidence and a spate of 'change of use' planning applications from developers reveal that in some cases buildings ostensibly developed as 'creches' are being designed and built with the true intention of selling them as residential homes. This means that buildings intended to provide much-needed childcare facilities are either sitting empty for years or being sold as expensive new builds after the developer successfully applies for a change of use to housing. READ MORE It is understood Ms Foley has already been meeting officials in local authorities to discuss the issue. There is a belief within the Department of Children that different local authorities are applying planning rules in different ways. At the first meeting of the Oireachtas committee on Children and Equality on Thursday, Ms Foley said she was now working with the Department of Housing to 'update' planning laws to increase supply of childcare places. 'I believe that there are significant challenges around the planning guidelines,' Ms Foley said. 'I know myself of instances where there are facilities that were built, that were never used for the purpose for which they were built in terms of [a] childcare facility, and then eventually some of them became a change of use, and something else went in there that's not acceptable.' Ms Foley also suggested that planning guidelines could help ease the issues with national supply of childcare places. 'I think that's a very serious issue around the planning guidelines. I think they're not working the way they should be working,' she said. 'And I think we would be surprised what that might bring on stream when we manage with the Minister for Housing to revisit all of that, because it is a shame that we do have those facilities and they are not being used for [childcare].' According to Emer Currie , Fine Gael TD for Dublin West and party spokeswoman on childcare, said there were a number of examples in her constituency alone of much-needed childcare facilities either lying empty or being sold as homes. Ms Currie highlighted one estate where two three-storey homes intended to be childcare facilities when they were built in 2014 'lay idle for years'. The developer applied four times between 2017 and 2023 for a change of use to housing. Ms Currie explained that the units, which were advertised for sale as a creche, 'were built in the same style as houses'. 'Both have now been sold as housing,' she said. In the Barnwell Park estate in Dublin 15, the developer applied to change two units intended to be childcare facilities into housing but this was refused by Fingal County Council in 2023 because it would 'set an inappropriate precedent'. Ms Currie said these buildings are 'still lying empty.' 'As parents we realise that finding childcare is a challenge. You have parents that believe that they've found a childcare solution that's going to be in their estate, or close to them, and then it never materialises. You can imagine the disappointment that follows,' Ms Currie said. She said she was calling on the Department of Finance to make childcare a 'priority' in the ongoing review of the National Development Plan . 'This is our moment to be able to say that childcare is essential infrastructure,' Ms Currie said.
