Councils are set to receive stronger planning and enforcement powers over vape shops, betting outlets, and adult gaming centres under a government package designed to give local authorities greater control over the commercial mix of high streets.
The government intends to revoke the Gambling Act’s “Aim to Permit” rule, which currently restricts the grounds on which councils can reject applications for new betting shops and 24-hour slot-machine premises.
Vape shops will also require planning permission, while the definition of the category will be tightened to prevent businesses avoiding the rules by presenting themselves principally as general convenience stores or retailers.
Adult gaming centres are due to become subject to planning permission from the start of 2027. The changes would give councils a larger role in determining whether concentrations of particular premises are appropriate for a town centre.
The maximum duration of Closure Orders will double from six to 12 months, allowing police and local authorities to keep premises shut for longer while investigating suspected links to organised crime.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the measures were intended to give “local people and councils a real say over what opens on their high street”.
The rules will affect landlords as well as prospective tenants. Requiring explicit planning permission can lengthen the process of opening premises, increase local scrutiny, and narrow the range of occupiers able to move rapidly into vacant units.
Commercial property owners facing long void periods may consequently have to assess a tenant’s planning position earlier in the letting process. Councils will also need to apply the new powers consistently and provide sufficient clarity for businesses considering investment.
The intervention follows years of structural change across British town centres. Traditional retailers have faced online competition, changing consumer habits, higher operating costs, and reduced footfall in some locations, while hospitality and leisure businesses have also contended with wage, energy, and property costs.
Vacant units can create opportunities for businesses able to open quickly and operate from smaller premises, including vape and gambling operators. Concerns arise when those uses become heavily concentrated or are linked to wider problems involving crime, illegal employment, or tax evasion.
Planning powers can influence that commercial mix, but restricting one category of occupier does not ensure another viable business will take the premises. High-street recovery also depends on local spending power, transport, housing, rents, business rates, property condition, public space, and the ability of alternative operators to trade profitably.
The government is separately preparing clearer guidance on shopfronts and appearance, extending the policy beyond the type of businesses that can open towards the physical condition of town centres.
Enforcement forms another part of the package. Longer Closure Orders are intended to give authorities more time to deal with premises suspected of involvement in organised criminal activity and prevent them reopening while investigations continue.
The government says the changes build on an existing £30m enforcement programme involving raids, closures, and cash seizures.
Local authorities will need implementation guidance before the full commercial effect becomes clear, particularly around existing premises and changes of use. Business owners and landlords will be looking for certainty over which developments trigger new applications and how quickly planning decisions can be made.
The policy represents a more interventionist approach to high-street composition, giving local government greater discretion over uses that were previously difficult to resist. Its impact will ultimately depend on whether councils can combine those restrictions with investment and commercial demand capable of filling the space with viable alternatives.
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