Member

Obesity costs the NHS and the economy £98 billion a year. Councils are supporting the health of their communities by adopting advertising policies that refuse adverts for unhealthy foods on the outdoor hoardings they own, but they are unable to use the planning system to reject applications for privately owned sites because of out-of-date regulations that restrict refusal to limited grounds of safety and amenity, such as whether a sign is illuminated. These hoardings are most often situated in the most deprived areas, where access to fresh food is not as easily available.