More needed to tackle dodgy shops

Rule changes to tackle dodgy shops are a start but not enough according to a campaigning Dudley councillor.

Labour Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced councils will have the power to block applications for new vape shops and bookmakers plus extended powers to close rogue businesses for up to a year.

Brierley Hill Conservative councillors Adam Davies and Wayne Little have been working with police and trading standards officers to close down shops involved in criminal activity, including Grab and Go on Dudley Road.

Cllr Davies said: “These are changes we’ve been pushing for quite some time alongside Trading Standards and other partners locally, so it’s good to see the issue finally getting attention at a national level.

“We’ve already had some successes and managed to shut down a number of these dodgy shops locally, but our experience has shown just how difficult it can be to deal with some of these premises. 

“Because enforcement action has to be evidence-led, it often takes a frustratingly long period of time – so anything that helps prevent these rogue businesses from becoming established in the first place is a step in the right direction.

“We’ve also been arguing for stronger enforcement powers, and Dudley Trading Standards recently fed into a Home Office consultation on extending closure orders from six months to twelve months.”

The measures include requiring planning permission for vape shops and tightening the definition of a vape shop to stop businesses getting around the new rules by claiming to be a general convenience store or retailer.

The ‘aim to permit’ rule which stops councils from blocking 24-hour slot machine premises and betting shops will also be revoked.

Andy Burnham said: “For many people, the high streets they grew up with have been hollowed out and become unrecognisable over decades of decline. 

“The rise of vape shops, betting shops and rogue operators have replaced the shops, services, and community spaces that people are crying out for.”

Cllr Davies believes the government must do more to regenerate high streets.

He added: “The government needs to make it easier for legitimate businesses to succeed.

“One way of helping businesses would be to abolish business rates for high street shops, pubs and other retail, hospitality and leisure businesses, as the Conservatives have put forward. 

“Otherwise, there is a danger that one problem is simply replaced by another in the form of more empty units.

“We want criminal fronts cleared out of our high streets, but the aim also has to be thriving town centres with a wider mix of shops, services and independent businesses that residents actually want to visit and support.”