KIRKLEES Council leader Mehboob Khan is arguing for more council control over the high street.
Councillor Khan – who is the Local Government Association’s chair of Safer and Stronger Communities – will be at a Westminster Parliament select committee today to recommend increasing planning powers for local authorities across the country.
He told the Examiner: “It will mean being able to have more control over the types of businesses being set up on the high street.
“And it will ensure that there’s a greater diversity of businesses and services that meet the everyday needs of the community – rather than the proliferation of one type of business.”
Clr Khan said Westbourne Road in Marsh was an example of one type of shop taking over the high street. He said: “The issue there is that there are lots of takeaways. And they are closed during the day and the shutters are down which makes the area look as though it’s closed and unwelcoming.
“And while they are open on an evening it causes smells and anti-social behaviour. It means that other businesses are unable to set up there and we no longer have a butchers and a bakers and a range of shops.”
