Scarborough Council asked to back KFC plans for Eastfield drive-thru

The American chain wants to build its drive-through on the site of the former Papa’s Fish and Chips building near Morrisons in Market Lane. The plan also includes a separate unit for coffee shop Costa.

In July, Scarborough Council planning officers had recommended that the scheme should be given the green light but the authority’s planning committee instead decided to defer a decision due to fears that the development could lead to an increase in litter in the area and that the potential for extra traffic and congestion could cause issues on the busy A64 road.

The KFC and Costa plan involves demolishing the Papa’s building, formerly The Scarborough public house, creating 24 new jobs in the process.

On Thursday September 10, the plans will once again go back before the same planning committee with the council’s planning officers again recommending that they are approved.

In deferring the scheme in July the committee wanted to once more ask the Highways Authority if it had any concerns about the levels of traffic at the site if the plans were approved.

In response, the Highways Authority said it has no objection to the scheme, saying that as the restaurants are replacing a business that previously offered takeout, and before that a pub, it does not think there will be a large increase in traffic.

The authority stated: “Any queues for the new restaurants should be within their development area and they have provided more parking for customers to wait for orders or to eat in.

“The junction and the mini roundabout were originally designed to cope with the supermarket, the large pub/restaurant and McDonald’s and unless the traffic this proposal creates is a significant increase it would be difficult to justify the expense of a major re-design.”

In response to concerns about litter the applicant has submitted a plan showing nine bins on the site, in addition to the eight currently provided by McDonald’s.

The officer’s report prepared ahead of the planning meeting also warns councillors that they should not be prejudiced against the plans based on their feelings about the businesses.

It states: “The precise identity of the companies is not material to consideration of the application, which should be judged on the basis of the proposed uses and form of development within the context of planning policy.”

In July, Eastfield Cllr Theresa Norton told the planning committee meeting that “Eastfield needs a lot of things but I’m not convinced a Costa or a KFC is among them”.

Cllr Norton said she did not feel the building had been empty long enough to allow another restaurant or a “community-based” business to try to bring forward an alternative scheme.

Her fellow Cllr Michael Stonehouse said: “I think it is a bit of an environmental disaster this one.”

Cllr Stonehouse said that the probable congestion the development would cause would be like having “carbon monoxide with your Costa”.