Portsmouth City Council's pizza machine plan for Southsea withdrawn

Pizza Rebellion, which already has machines in places such as Bognor Regis (pictured), has said it only uses healthy ingredients

A council's plan to install a pizza vending machine near a seafront has been withdrawn after being criticised by doctors over health concerns.

Portsmouth City Council had previously said the machine proposed for the D-Day Story car park in Southsea would provide "quality food and drink".

But among those to object was a GP who said it was "promoting the mindset that ultra-processed food is healthy".

The authority said it was now looking for an "alternative suitable location".

It said in initial plans that the "innovative idea" would have used a machine by Chichester-based Pizza Rebellion, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

However, Southampton GP Dr Karen Malone said it would only increase the "epidemic of obesity and poor metabolic health".

She added that the council had a "responsibility to promote good health and not encourage or support bad ones".

'Healthy ingredients'

Mark Hancock, of The Grange Surgery in Petersfield, also called on the council to pull the application and instead put a greater focus on improving the health of people in the city.

Hampshire Constabulary also expressed concern about the idea, writing a letter to the council to highlight how there would be "very little natural surveillance of the dispenser from the public highway".

The force said it believed the plan would increase "opportunities for crime and disorder".

Pizza Rebellion's website said it only used "great healthy ingredients" and that its concept was about "rebelling against the normal takeaway drivel".

The business has machines in Brighton, Bognor Regis, Cosham, Chichester, Southampton and Worthing.