Fast food and vape shops

THE RESEARCH found that 4,000 new fast food outlets had opened across the UK in the past five years – predominantly in poorer areas.

Deprived areas now have five times more fast food shops than wealthy neighbourhoods, the RSPH said.

It showed that vape shops have doubled to 2,000 in the last three years, while the number of empty shops on the high street has increased from below seven per cent in 2007 to 11 per cent in 2017.

Shirley Cramer, chief executive of the RSPH, said the Chancellor’s Budget did “not go far enough” for high streets as councils are unable to reshape their high streets due to ongoing funding cuts.