wembley-plan-app (small) , item 9. PDF 8 MB - Meetings, agendas ...

Wembley Area Action Plan - Proposed Submission Version89Town centres, shopping, leisure and tourism 8improvements to public transport will berequired where development will attract a largenumber of trips.Hot Food TakeawaysPicture 8.5 Wembley Arena8.20 Wembley has a large number of takeawaysand fast food outlets, partly as a result of demandgenerated by those attending events at the Stadiumand Arena. While takeaways can make a positivecontribution to the local economy and community,there is evidence that large concentrations offast-food takeaways contribute to unhealthylifestyles particularly amongst young people and,consequently, they are considered to be a particularproblem when located close to schools because oflinks with childhood obesity. There is someevidence that suggests that "increased geographicdensity of fast food restaurants and conveniencestores is also related to increased BMI". (1) It isbecoming more widely accepted that it isappropriate to control such uses in certain locationsto help reduce the impacts on the health of the localpopulation, particularly school children. However,it is also recognised that the Stadium and Arena inparticular will give rise to particular demand forfast-food close to these facilities. Policy must,therefore, seek to balance the needs of visitors tothe area with the impacts that fast food restaurantscan give rise to, including for example, increasedlevels of litter and noise as well as on the health oflocal people. Borough -wide policy (as currently setout in the UDP 2004, policies SH6 - SH8) limits theamount of frontage in the primary parts of towncentres that can be occupied by non-retail uses.This will continue to apply in Wembley. However,there is a need for policy to further limit the level ofA5 uses, particularly in secondary frontages wherethere are currently no limits.WEM 28Hot Food Takeaways (A5 Uses)In recognition of the specialist role that thetown centres in Wembley have in meeting theneeds of visitors to the area, outside of primaryand secondary frontages applications for newA5 uses will be considered on their merits.There will be a limit of 7% on the proportion ofunits in A5 use in any single length of primaryor secondary frontage of Wembley / WembleyPark town centres. No further A5 uses will bepermitted within 400 metres of a schoolentrance/exit point.Conferencing Facilities8.21 Conferencing facilities have been scaledback locally following the loss of the WembleyConference Centre and associated exhibitionspace. The council’s vision for Wembley is thatthese uses be re-provided in the form of aConvention Centre. In the current climate thereappears to be little appetite for the private sectorto provide such a purpose-built facility.Nevertheless, Wembley, particularly because ofthe Stadium but also the Arena and hotels, remainsan important conference venue. It may be possible,through collaboration between different providerssuch as the Stadium, Arena, hotels and the council,1 United States Department of Agriculture’s Nutrition Evidence Library