Almost topping the takeaways list should make us all think

WHAT reasons would you give to someone to encourage them to move to Rossendale?

There’s the beautiful countryside, nice town centres, friendly people, good(ish) transport links, great places to eat and some excellent schools.

How about the fact there are more takeaways per 1,000 people than almost anywhere else in the country?

Maybe not a fact to shout about – but perhaps a fact to give us pause for thought.

Research by Cambridge University published last week concluded Rossendale has 103 takeaways, a slight decline (of two) on a few years ago.

This works out at around 1.5 takeaways per 1,000 people, with only a handful of other areas – including Blackburn – having more.

As an aside, if that number sounds high, then it’s worth remembering that in March 2016, Rossendale Council had licensed the equivalent of 37 taxis for every 1,000 people who lived in Rossendale – meaning in theory you’re four times more likely to find a cab in Rossendale than in London!

Of course, we know that many of those taxis never actually operate in Rossendale – and that the council has committed to only licensing cabs for drivers who actually intend to pick up people in the Valley.

On the issue of takeaways, however, there seems to have been little action, despite a lot of talk.

A survey carried out by the Rossendale Free Press in 2016 revealed that 75 per cent of people in Haslingden felt the number of takeaways opening up was a problem in the area.

At the time, councillors pledged a ‘no more takeaways’ policy for Haslingden, and predicted there would be uproar if planning officers recommended any more for approval.

Then Domino’s won permission from Rossendale’s planning committee to convert the old Natwest in Deardengate into a pizza takeaway, despite local objections.

But how worried should we be about having so many takeaways in our area?

Truth be told, they are only there because there is a demand – so why is it we have so many?

Is it because we’re that little bit more unhealthy than other areas?

Or does that make an assumption that takeaway food is by nature, unhealthy.

Subway, the fast-food takeaway sandwich shop due to open its second Rawtenstall branch on the expanding New Hall Hey shopping park, often promotes parts of its menu on being healthy, while the new McDonald’s in Rawtenstall has multiple items on its menu aimed at the calorie-conscious.

And speaking as a takeaway regular myself, there are some fine independent takeaways dotted around Rossendale, not to mention restaurants which also do takeaways, which won’t be included in the data pulled together by Cambridge University.

But are we approaching saturation point?

Rossendale Council is committed to improving town centres in Haslingden, Rawtenstall and Bacup but these locations will only thrive as day-time shopping destinations if most of the shops are actually open.

Can that be the case if we have so many takeaways?

Maybe it’s not a thing to worry about as the takeaways here tend to be spread right across the borough, and not confined to town centres, although people in Haslingden do point to an over-supply in their town.

Maybe we shouldn’t be worried by being close to the top of the list for the number of takeaways per head of population.

But it’s an issue which surely begs closer inspection.