To some people, Julie Ashton lives in takeaway heaven. Her street, Bank Top, near the centre of Blackburn, boasts a string of fast food outlets that sell instant, cheap, high-calorie meals. Two of the takeaways on this street go by the name of Paradise.

“Around here you can get chips and a burger for a pound, with a bit of lettuce,” says Ashton, a part-time horse groomer. “The takeaways sell so much fast food because so many customers are coming in to get the deals. Everybody is going into competition with each other. They’re all trying to out-do next door.”

Since 2014, the number of takeaway shops in the borough of Blackburn with Darwen has gone up 24%, according to the newly released Food Environment Assessment Tool (Feat). Guardian analysis shows that 38% of all food outlets in the borough are given over to fast food — the highest proportion in England, 12% above the national average.

It is also one of the country’s most deprived areas, according to government statistics. This follows the nationwide pattern: between them, the more deprived half of England’s boroughs possess 45% more fast food outlets than the less deprived half.

In Blackburn, life expectancy lags behind the national average , and almost a quarter of children in reception class were overweight or obese in 2013-14 (the last year figures were available). In Ashton’s street, some of the takeaways are located directly across the road from the local secondary school, St Wilfrid’s Church of England Academy.

Lack of hygiene is another factor that bugs Ashton about the proliferation of fast food shops on her doorstep. “It was bad outside a takeaway last week — you could see the maggots running in the garbage,” she says. “When I eat out, I prefer to go out [to a restaurant] and spend a little bit more money.”

In all, Blackburn now has 236 takeaways (defined by Feat as outlets where hot food is ordered and paid for at the till, with no waiter service and limited or no sit-in option), or one for every 625 residents in the borough. No wonder the windows of each takeaway are decked out with so many offers.

In Darwen Street in the town centre, one promises daytime specials for £3 with sugar-laced drink included. At another, customers can eat a “jumbo special” of mixed meats for £6.20. Super-value meals start at just £2, with many outlets throwing in free home delivery.



In Blackburn with Darwen, 38% of all food outlets are given over to fast food – the highest proportion in England. Photograph: Ashley Cooper/Alamy

“In a week, we can have a least two or three takeaways,” says Nathan Bentley, a 21-year-old unemployed Blackburn resident. He thinks there are too many fast food shops in his home town, and “no proper restaurants – unless you go to the Postal Order, but that’s really expensive. There’s no other places to eat apart from a McDonald’s – but again it’s fast food.”

Everybody is going into competition with each other. They’re all trying to out-do next door Julie Ashton

Bentley, who is currently supported by the Salvation Army, suggests the council should crack down on the long opening hours of takeaways. “The other food businesses are not going to get customers if the takeaways are open all day. Some of them open at 10am. If the council controlled these opening hours, we might see a change.”

There are supermarkets available within walking distance of the town centre, all offering fresh fruit and vegetables. But the tantalising choice of a takeaway is one that some find hard to refuse.



Kim McConaghy from Lower Darwen has made the change, however. The mother-of-three entrepreneur used to eat a takeaway once a week, after her three young boys had attended their Friday leisure activities – but has recently given up the habit. “It was cheap and convenient – we would normally get a pizza instead of going back and cooking something,” she says. “But it’s a vicious circle.”

Birmingham, Gateshead and Barking and Dagenham in east London are among the councils that have, in recent years, introduced planning restrictions with the aim of limiting the amount of takeaway businesses. NHS public health officials have recommended all councils consider adopting similar rules.

Blackburn-with-Darwen council says it has started to follow suit by turning down planning applications, while also encouraging existing outlets to offer customers more healthy options.

“We fully acknowledge people’s concerns, and are working hard to strike the correct balance of fast food outlets in the borough,” says Dominic Harrison, the council’s director of public health.

“We work with many of these businesses to provide healthier menu options via our Recipe 4 Health scheme. We’ve also taken steps to amend the planning process to help us restrict applications where necessary – which led to one being refused last year. But our planning guidance has to reflect national rules as well.”

Today, Blackburn’s high street is lined with bustling shops, cheerful dog walkers, and families enjoying the summer holidays. Business certainly appears to be booming – and nowhere moreso than among the town’s fast food outlets.

The afternoon air is thick with the aroma of ribs, veggie burgers and seven-inch pizzas from takeaway shops neatly placed beside one another. According to health experts seeking to tackle the nation’s obesity crisis, however, it’s not exactly a vision of paradise.

Are you worried about the large number of fast food outlets in your area? Take our fast food survey, or email us at inequality.project@theguardian.com