Councils across England will gain new authority to block vape shops and betting shops from opening under government proposals unveiled to tackle high street decline. Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced the measures, which include requiring planning permission for new vape retailers and scrapping restrictions that currently limit councils' ability to refuse betting shop applications. The plans follow extensive reporting that exposed organised crime, illegal trading and money laundering linked to high street businesses.
Burnham said town centres had suffered decades of decline, leaving many unrecognisable to the communities that once knew them.
For many people, the high streets they grew up with have become unrecognisable.
Investigative reporting has previously uncovered shops selling illegal cigarettes and vapes, dealing cannabis and cocaine, facilitating illegal working and enabling suspected money laundering on high streets nationwide. The Conservatives and Reform UK have criticised the proposals, arguing they would leave
