Burnham pledges tighter control over vape shops, betting shops on UK high streets
Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham announces plans to give councils and locals more power to regulate what businesses can open.
Conversation activity · last 18 hours peak 1/30m
Summary, timeline and people extracted by Claude from 5 items across 2 sources · 2h ago. Quotes are verbatim.
Andy Burnham, mayor of Greater Manchester, announced on August 11 that he is taking action to address what he describes as unwanted businesses—vape shops, betting shops, and other "dodgy businesses"—proliferating on UK high streets. His plan involves giving local people and councils greater control over business licensing and enforcement powers.
- Burnham proposes giving councils and residents more control over high-street business licensing to restrict vape shops, betting shops, and similar retailers.
- Reddit commenters identify structural blockers: landlord incentives and council policy that make housing conversion difficult, and high commercial rents that limit diverse businesses.
- Conversation centers on whether licensing controls alone address the root causes of high-street decline, or if economic barriers to affordable retail space are the real problem.
How it unfolded
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Discussion emerged on Reddit about whether the proposal addresses root causes. Commenters identified landlord incentives and council policy as blockers, with one noting the risk of empty high streets, while others pointed to rent affordability as the core issue.
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Andy Burnham posted on X that he is taking action to address vape shops, betting shops, and other unwanted businesses on high streets, pledging to give local people and councils more control over what opens and tougher powers to crack down on businesses.
“If you look at your high street these days and think 'who asked for this?', you're not alone. I'm doing something about it.”
Andy Burnham · X ↗
What people are saying verbatim
“If you look at your high street these days and think 'who asked for this?', you're not alone. I'm doing something about it.”
Andy Burnham, Greater Manchester mayor · X ↗ · Aug 11, 3:59 AM
“We need to get to a point where we can lower the rent for businesses. Then we can have a better variety of things instead of only ones who can make a profit.”
SLGrimes, Reddit commenter · Reddit ↗ · Aug 11, 5:14 PM
“So instead high streets will be entirely empty, but conversion to housing will still be forbidden.”
Spiz101, Reddit commenter · Reddit ↗ · Aug 11, 4:29 PM
The conversation positions from the crowd, verbatim
Discussion on Reddit focuses less on Burnham's proposal itself and more on its likely effectiveness. Commenters are skeptical about whether licensing controls will solve the problem without addressing underlying economic incentives—particularly landlord profits and commercial rent levels.
The dispute Whether licensing controls address the problem or merely displace the issue without solving the underlying economics of high-street retail and conversion to housing.
Licensing controls alone won't work; the real issue is high commercial rents and landlord incentives that favor chain tenants.
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“We need to get to a point where we can lower the rent for businesses. Then we can have a better variety of things instead of only ones who can make a profit.”
SLGrimes · Reddit ↗ -
“what are the blockers? Given my limited experience, I'd say the landlords (?) Councils, who make it essentially impossible to take the most renumerative option for the bulk of these units - conversion to housing.”
Spiz101 · Reddit ↗
Even with tighter licensing, high streets risk becoming entirely vacant if structural barriers to housing conversion remain in place.
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“So instead high streets will be entirely empty, but conversion to housing will still be forbidden.”
Spiz101 · Reddit ↗
- What specific enforcement mechanisms and powers will councils gain under this plan?
- Will the plan address commercial rent affordability, or only restrict certain business types?
Voices from the web unedited
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Vape shops. Betting shops. Dodgy businesses. If you look at your high street these days and think ‘who asked for this?’, you’re not alone. I’m doing something about it. We’re giving local people and councils more control over what opens, and tougher powers to crack down on
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Agreed, but what are the blockers? Given my limited experience, I'd say the landlords (?) Councils, who make it essentially impossible to take the most renumerative option for the bulk of these units - conversion to housing.
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We need to get to a point where we can lower the rent for businesses. Then we can have a better variety of things instead of only ones who can make a profit.
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So instead high streets will be entirely empty, but conversion to housing will still be forbidden.