For over a century, Newcastle upon Tyne was the proud home of British coal, the engine room that powered the country’s industrial revolution.
With its manufacturing heritage came a necessity for large, hearty meals. It was in Gosforth, north of the city centre, that John Gregg founded what is now one of the UK’s biggest bakery chains in 1939.
But the city that birthed Greggs has now gone to war on unhealthy food, bringing in an ambitious ban on new takeaway and fast food openings in a desperate bid to combat soaring obesity rates.
It follows complaints that fast food chains and takeaways have effectively colonised poorer areas of the city, creating so-called “food swamps” where access to healthy, nutritious meals is nearly impossible,
