Aspect 3 - Healthier food
Overview
A healthy food environment plays an important role in promoting a healthy diet, making it easy, accessible and appealing for people to make nutritious food choices. It is a complex system influenced and determined by a series of factors, including a person’s proximity to food retail outlets, the type and cost of food available. Evidence indicates that making healthier foods more accessible and increasing provision of low-cost healthier food can be effective interventions within a whole system approach to diet and obesity. Access to opportunities for food growing contributes to a healthy diet as well as providing other physical and mental health benefits.
Determinant 3a - Access to healthy food
In this section:
Requirements
Access to healthy food requires having physical and affordable access to safe, nutritious food options that meet dietary needs and preferences. This includes the ability to acquire food locally through purchase, production, or other means. It considers factors like proximity to stores, affordability, and the availability of a diverse range of healthy food options. A food environment with healthy options helps people to achieve and maintain a healthy weight. The proliferation of hot food takeaways which sell mostly unhealthy and ultra-processed foods are associated with higher levels of obesity.
Issues, impacts and links to health and wellbeing effects
Below is an outline as to the importance of the determinant, its connection to health and wellbeing outcomes, and how it affects different population groups, particularly the most vulnerable.
Promoting a healthy diet: The food environment plays a significant role in shaping dietary habits. Improving access to healthier food options supports healthier eating and is a key part of a whole systems approach to tackling obesity.
Obesity: Obesity is linked to reduced life expectancy and a range of health conditions including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, liver and respiratory disease and cancer. Obesity can also negatively affect mental health. Access to healthy and nutritious food can improve diet and prevent chronic diseases related to obesity. (Public Health England | 2020)
Low incomes: Low-income households are defined as those with incomes below 60% of the national median, after housing costs. Members of these households, particularly young families and older adults, often face significant barriers to accessing affordable, nutritious food. Limited financial resources can constrain food choices, leading to greater reliance on inexpensive, energy-dense foods that are high in salt, fat, and sugar. As a result, obesity rates are highest among the most deprived communities. Children living in these areas are more than twice as likely to be obese as those in the least deprived areas, contributing to long-term health inequalities and increased risk of chronic diseases. (The Food Foundation, 2025)
Hot Food Takeaways: An overconcentration of hot food takeaways selling mostly unhealthy, often high in fat, salt and sugar and ultra-processed foods restricts healthy eating choices.
Healthy food availability: Increasing opportunities and access to local supermarkets or grocery stores to purchase fresh and healthy foods and limiting the concentration of hot food takeaways can positively influence eating behaviours, improve diets and improve both physical and mental health. (ESCC, 2024)
The Opportunities - What the Planning System Can Do
Positive actions, principles and measures that should be considered and where feasible implemented to address adverse effects and enhance health and wellbeing benefits.
Retail diversity: Promote and enable a broader mix of local shopping facilities in all shopping centres to improve access to healthy food options.
Mixed-use developments: Consider the inclusion of grocery stores or supermarkets in new mixed-use developments to enhance access to local fresh and healthy food.
Hot food takeaways and fast-food outlets: Consider restricting hot food takeaways and fast-food outlets with regard to local obesity and overweight levels, deprivation, proliferation and proximity to vulnerable groups. Support the introduction of hot food takeaway zones around schools
Local data and evidence
Data available on Healthy Places Data Profile (link): East Sussex Healthy Places Data Profile
- Weight: Prevalence of overweight (including obesity): Reception, Year 6 and Adults
- Diabetes: Estimated diabetes diagnosis rate - persons - 17+ yrs
- Food: Adults meeting the ‘5-a-day’ fruit and vegetable consumption recommendations
- Physical activity: Physically active children and young people, percentage of physically active and inactive adults
- Preventable diseases: Under 75 mortality rate from causes considered preventable (includes cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, cancer and liver disease)
Data available on external websites:
- National Child Measurement Programme | Department of Health & Social Care
- Food Environment Assessment Tool | feat-tool.org.uk
- Indices of Deprivation 2025 Explorer | gov.uk
Evidence: County-wide plans, strategies and reports.
National planning policy context
The National Planning Policy Framework (December 2024) includes the following paragraphs:
- Paragraph 96 – ‘Planning policies and decisions should aim to achieve healthy, inclusive and safe places which:
- c) enable and support healthy lives, through both promoting good health and preventing ill-health, especially where this would address identified local health and well-being needs and reduce health inequalities between the most and least deprived communities – for example through the provision of safe and accessible green infrastructure, sports facilities, local shops, access to healthier food, allotments and layouts that encourage walking and cycling.’
- Paragraph 97 – ‘Local planning authorities should refuse applications for hot food takeaways and fast-food outlets:
- a) within walking distance of schools and other places where children and young people congregate, unless the location is within a designated town centre; or
- b) in locations where there is evidence that a concentration of such uses is having an adverse impact on local health, pollution or anti-social behaviour.’
Other key guidance and standards
Guidance stresses the importance of tackling the obesity and overweight challenges. It highlights the role that planning can play in restricting the availability of unhealthy food and increasing access to healthier options.
- Using the planning system to promote healthy weight environments | Public Health England | 2020 It provides practical support to create environments that make healthy choices easier. It outlines how planning can help reduce obesity including through access to healthier food options, and control of hot food takeaways.
- The Broken Plate: The State of the Nation's Food System | The Food Foundation | 2025
- Report monitors the UK food system through 13 key metrics, showing that people lack the financial means and access to decent food. It calls for our food system to be reshaped so that the healthiest and most sustainable options are the most affordable, available and appealing.
- Restricting the appeal and availability of junk food | TCPA APSE | 2025
- Outlines the role of planning in shaping food environments. Reducing exposure to unhealthy food by restricting hot food takeaway proliferation and junk‑food advertising.
- Managing takeaways near schools: a toolkit for local authorities 2024 | zenodo.org
- The toolkit provides four practical steps for implementing takeaway management zones, to prevent new takeaways near schools. Based on robust research, it shows these zones can improve local environments, support health, and benefit local economies.
Links with other determinants
There are overlaps and synergies between ‘Aspects’ and ‘Determinants’. This section provides a list of determinants which are interconnected and cross cutting with this determinant.
- 1a. Quality Provision of Local Services and Facilities – Mix of local shops with healthy food choices contributes to overall provision of essential services and facilities.
Determinant 3b - Food growing
In this section:
Requirements
Access to food growing opportunities, whether in an individual private garden, allotment or community garden or growing scheme is required to enable a wide range of health benefits both physical and mental. It increases the consumption of fruit and vegetables improving diet and reducing food costs. Gardening increases physical activity and improves mental health by reducing stress, increasing self-esteem and provides opportunities for interaction.
Issues, impacts and links to health and wellbeing effects
Below is an outline as to the importance of the determinant, its connection to health and wellbeing outcomes, and how it affects different population groups, particularly the most vulnerable.
- Healthy eating: Balanced and nutritious diets are fundamental to maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Growing food promotes higher consumption of fruits and vegetables and fosters more positive attitudes toward healthy eating.
- Physical health benefits: Regular participation in gardening or community food growing projects increases physical activity levels, aiding healthy weight management and reducing obesity risk. Engagement in food growing can help alleviate symptoms of serious illnesses and may prevent the development of some health conditions. (Sustain, 2014)
- Mental health benefits: Food growing supports mental health and wellbeing by reducing stress, improving mood and boosting self-esteem. It provides a connection to nature and a sense of accomplishment. Community growing and allotments provide opportunities for social interaction, enhancing community cohesion. (Sustain, 2014)
- Integrated: Allotments and community food growing sites should be integrated into the wider network of green spaces and infrastructure and linked to active travel networks. Locating allotments in a visible and connected position maximises natural surveillance and avoids vandalism and crime. Badly located allotments can deter vulnerable users affecting social inclusion and community cohesion. (The National Allotment Society, 2023)
The Opportunities - What the Planning System Can Do
Positive actions, principles and measures that should be considered and where feasible implemented to address adverse effects and enhance health and wellbeing benefits.
- Community and private food growing: Provide and design private and public gardens and landscapes to support food growing. Increase and enhance the provision of communal gardens, allotments and orchards
- Small growing spaces: Make innovative use of limited spaces, rooftops, balconies, and walls as productive growing spaces in urban areas.
- Fruit trees: Promote the planting of fruit trees in suitable public spaces and ensure they are supported with appropriate maintenance strategies to maximise their benefits and longevity.
- Access and inclusivity: Design food-growing spaces that are accessible to all, including children, older adults, and people with disabilities, encouraging community involvement and wellbeing.
- Location: Locate allotments and community growing sites in the centre of developments, close to housing, walking and cycle routes, and public transport. This will ensure natural surveillance and encourage visitors to use active and sustainable transport to and from the site.
- Protect: Preserve land used for local food production, including community gardens, urban farms, and allotments.
- Maintenance: Ensure long-term maintenance plans are in place for community food growing areas, including responsibilities for upkeep, irrigation, pruning of trees, and seasonal care, to support sustained use and community participation.
Local data and evidence
Data available on Healthy Places Data Profile: East Sussex Healthy Places Data Profile
- Physical activity: Physically active children and young people, percentage of physically active and inactive adults
- Weight: Prevalence of overweight (including obesity): Reception, Year 6 and Adults
- Diabetes: Estimated diabetes diagnosis rate - persons - 17+ yrs
- Food: Adults meeting the ‘5-a-day’ fruit and vegetable consumption recommendations
Data available on external websites: Active Lives Small Area Estimates Tool | Sport England
Evidence: County-wide plans, strategies and reports.
National planning policy context
The National Planning Policy Framework (December 2024) includes the following paragraphs:
- Paragraph 96 – ‘Planning policies and decisions should aim to achieve healthy, inclusive and safe places which:
- c) enable and support healthy lives, through both promoting good health and preventing ill-health, especially where this would address identified local health and well-being needs and reduce health inequalities between the most and least deprived communities – for example through the provision of safe and accessible green infrastructure, sports facilities, local shops, access to healthier food, allotments and layouts that encourage walking and cycling.’
Other key guidance and standards
Guidance highlights the benefits of food growing for health and wellbeing.
- 21st Century Allotments in New Developments | The National Allotment Society | 2023 The guide provides design-led, policy-based, guidance for planners and developers encouraging and supporting the inclusion of well-designed allotments in new developments.
- The benefits of gardening and food growing for health and wellbeing | Sustain | 2014 A review of the scientific literature setting out the strength of evidence for the benefits of gardening and food growing for physical and mental health and wellbeing.
Links with other determinants
There are overlaps and synergies between ‘Aspects’ and ‘Determinants’. This section provides a list of determinants which are interconnected and cross cutting with this determinant.
- 1e. Social Cohesion and Interaction – Community food growing provides opportunities for interaction and contributes to social cohesion.
- 4b. Access and Provision of Quality Public Green and Blue Spaces – Food growing provides access to nature and can be incorporated into green spaces adding to the quality and use of spaces.