UK to scrap ‘aim to permit’ rule as councils gain power to block betting shops

Councils across Great Britain will gain greater powers to block new betting shops under government plans aimed at giving local authorities more control over the businesses operating in town centers.

The proposals would scrap the rule known as “aim to permit”, which currently restricts councils’ ability to refuse new betting shops and 24-hour slot machine shops. In England, new adult gaming centers offering 24-hour access to gambling machines would also be required to secure planning permission before opening.

Housing Secretary Angela Rayner told BBC Breakfast on Tuesday that many people were frustrated at gambling outlets “popping up even near schools and some of them are linked to illegal activity and crime”.

The National Crime Agency estimates that at least £1 billion of criminal cash is laundered through high street stores in the UK each year through businesses connected to fake goods, tax evasion, illegal working and illegal drug supply.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham said town centers had been “hollowed out” by decades of decline and that, for many people, the high streets they grew up with are “unrecognisable”. He said he did not accept the decline of the high street as “inevitable.”

The proposals come as Burnham begins a tour of the UK, with Downing Street saying he will be in “listening mode” during his visits as he works on a “10-year plan to bring back hope”. Burnham said the measures would give councils more power to determine what kinds of businesses are allowed to open in town centers.

He also said the plans had been “shaped” by a series of BBC News Investigations that exposed organized crime operating on high streets, including illegal working, suspected money-laundering and the sale of cannabis, cocaine, illegal cigarettes and other illicit goods.

Burnham pointed to Operation Vulcan in Cheetham Hill, Greater Manchester, which cleared the area of counterfeits and crime and “proved” what could be achieved through coordinated enforcement.

“When I look at police reform across England, I will be asking for a similar approach to be taken,” he said. “I want the strongest possible neighbourhood policing, with all agencies involved, to rip out criminal behaviour that is pulling places down.”

The Conservatives and Reform criticized the proposals, arguing that they would result in “more empty” shops unless tax relief was also provided for other small businesses.