AN Essex council has agreed to ban vape and barber shops from opening in council-owned shop sites, where there is already a ‘concentration’ of the businesses reports the Local Democracy Reporter.
Basildon Borough Council agreed to the ban as the current town centre shopping experience offers “very little more than a handful of businesses offering the same thing”, a meeting on Thursday (June 18) was told.
Reform UK councillor David Abrahall, who proposed the ban, told the meeting a successful town centre “needs a diverse retail offer.”
He added the council “should seek diversity when the opportunity arises” for council-owned shop units. He said: “This seems to be a perfectly responsible approach, perhaps it will allow another independent retailer to establish themselves. Perhaps it will encourage another family business.”
Fellow Reform UK councillor Darren Gardner told the meeting the “issue is the concentration” of these businesses. He added: “When residents walk through parts of our borough seeing businesses, after businesses offering the exact same thing, they rightly start asking if anyone is taking a strategic view of our high streets.”
Gavin Callaghan, former Labour leader of the council, said the ban is not needed. He told the meeting: “We have over 200 units that this council owns, across the borough, and at this moment in time, we have four barber shops and one vape shop. It does not make commercial sense for Basildon Council to put loads of vape shops and loads of barbers into our units, we don’t do it anyway.”
It comes as Basildon Town Centre has been undergoing a major regeneration, with the new Vue Cinema, restaurants and other businesses in East Square. Works are also well underway on 492 homes in the town centre.
