McDonald’s axes plans for new A38 restaurant that would’ve brought …
Plans to build a roadside McDonald’s next to the A38[1] near Burton[2] have been withdrawn after council officials said they should be rejected. The planned new McDonald’s restaurant would have been built on land bordering the intersection of the A38, the Castle Way and the A5132, near Willington.
However, at a South Derbyshire District Council meeting, at which officers were recommending that the plans should be refused, it was announced that McDonald’s had effectively pulled its scheme. This avoided the scheme from being either refused or approved, or even deferred for changes to be made or further discussions.
The new restaurant would have created 120 new jobs and sat across from a BP petrol station and the OK Diner – three miles away from the nearest McDonald’s in Derby Road, Burton. South Derbyshire planners felt the planned site was not the right location for the popular restaurant chain and felt town or village centre spots would be better suited and should have been considered instead.
They said, “as a minimum” it would have been “reasonable” to consider Findern, Repton, Newton Solney, Hilton, Etwall, Hatton, or sites at the new developments of Highfields Farm near Littleover and the west of Mickleover. McDonald’s had contested that it did not need to consider town centre sites because it was specifically pitching a roadside drive-through.
It said the new restaurant would include 76 tables, 53 parking spaces, a children’s play area, would create 120 new jobs and would see the investment of £1.87 million into the local economy. The three parish councils covering Egginton, Hilton and Willington all opposed the plans, citing safety risks for the merging lane onto the A38 off the Castle Way, along with noise, odour, litter and anti-social behaviour concerns.
More than 500 people contacted the council over the plans, with 279 objection letters and 231 letters of support. Those objecting raised issues over traffic and road safety, litter, anti-social behaviour, noise, odour, pollution, the impact on local health and wellbeing, lack of pedestrian access and an existing McDonald’s nearby in Burton.
Meanwhile those standing in support of the plans spoke about job creation, an increase in convenient food options, a reduction in car journeys into Burton and Derby and the positive use of a vacant brownfield site – used for skip storage.
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References
- ^ A38 (www.staffordshire-live.co.uk)
- ^ Burton (www.staffordshire-live.co.uk)
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