Wrexham: New McDonald's drive-thru approved despite concerns

Councillors considered proposals by the fast food giant to build a new restaurant on the Plas Coch Retail Park at a meeting held yesterday (Monday, 23 July).

The two-storey development, which the company said would create more than 120 jobs, will be built on part of a car park which serves The Range and Farmfoods.

The scheme was approved despite a number of members Wrexham Council's planning committee raising issues regarding traffic, parking and litter.

Once constructed, it will be the third branch of the burger chain within the city centre, including the long-standing restaurant on Regent Street and another which opened on the Central Retail Park in March.

A decision on the plans was previously placed on hold by politicians at a meeting in May to seek more details about the impact on road safety.

Representatives for McDonald's rejected the request after claiming they had already provided enough information to address their fears.

(Image: WCBC)

Cllr Graham Rogers (Lab) was among the committee members who voiced opposition to the proposals at Monday's meeting.

He said: “I'm not comfortable with the granting of this application.

“I believe the applicant has declined to carry out further transport assessments, as they consider the assessments already taken to be robust.

“It’s a development which will result in significant numbers of traffic within the locality.

“It will result in significant damage to residential amenity, quality of life, community health, traffic movements and pedestrians.

“Plus, there’s the litter aspect, which will attract additional vermin, which could have a severe impact on health.”

The application was recommended for approval ahead of the meeting by a senior council official.

David Fitzsimon, Wrexham’s chief planning officer, said he was satisfied with measures proposed to address highways issues, including a new pedestrian crossing and a safety barrier.

A previous bid by McDonald’s to build a restaurant on the same site was refused by councillors due to traffic concerns in June 2021.

An appeal was later rejected by a planning inspector due to the impact on phosphate pollution levels in rivers, but politicians were told the issue had been addressed following upgrades to a nearby wastewater treatment works.

(Image: WCBC)
However, Stansty councillor David Bithell (Ind) said he still had concerns about traffic.

He said: “I’m quite familiar with this area and my concern is you will have vehicles backed up entering from the roundabout into that small retail area.

“They will be queuing up to go into McDonald's, and then the other retail units will be gridlocked.”

Despite the issues raised, planning officers said the reasons for refusal suggested by councillors were not valid and would be hard to defend if an appeal was made.

Cllr Rogers expressed frustration at the advice and said he felt like he was "flogging a dead horse".

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But Chirk councillor Frank Hemmings (Lab) said the committee should listen to their guidance.

He said: “I'm a bit concerned that we employ a highways officer who's skilled in their profession and has knowledge that we don't, and we’re saying that we don’t believe you.

“I find that completely wrong. We might as well not employ somebody in that position if we're going to ignore it. I support what the highways officer is saying.”

The plans were approved after five councillors voted in favour, with three against and five choosing to abstain.