McDonald’s is coming to Hucknall

McDonald’s has won its appeal against a decision made by Ashfield District Council to turn down a plan for a drive-through restaurant near the Tesco Extra superstore site in Hucknall.
Fast food nationFast food nation
Fast food nation

The council opposed the proposal because of claims that the restaurant would attract anti-social behaviour and car cruisers, as well as the location being close to the busy junction of Ashgate and Station roads.

A council spokesman said no order had been made for the council to meet the costs of the appeal, estimated at £100,000, and McDonald’s confirmed they will not apply for them.

A spokesperson for the fast food chain said: “We are very much looking forward to delivering our new restaurant and are aiming to open towards the end of this year or early next year. We believe the restaurant will bring significant investment to the town centre and the local community, as well as creating at least 65 new full and part-time jobs.”

McDonald’s appealed in April last year, after its application to build a new store on the site of a vacant warehouse, off Bolsover Street was rejected by an Ashfield council’s planning committee in September 2017. 
Councillors rejected it because of the potential for noise, anti-social behaviour, smells and litter – despite officers recommending it go ahead.

Inspector Susan Ashworth said: “I am satisfied that the proposal would not cause undue harm to the living conditions of the nearby residents or the character of the area.”

Some residents raised concerns about late night traffic, while others said “Hucknall is in real need of the attention of some more of the big multinational operations”.

Council officers requested the fast-food chain pay a contribution of £31,000 towards off site highway improvements, when they originally recommended the plans for approval.

Rumours that McDonald’s would open a branch on the site, which housed the former Hucknall Colliery, and was owned and developed by Derbyshire Estates, began in 2008, but the chain denied they had plans at the time.

The single storey restaurant will have 37 car parking spaces, two disabled parking spaces and two ‘grill bays’. Access to the site will be via a new roundabout.