Drive through and pick up burgers as plan approved
A Mcdonald’s in Bath will be transformed into a drive through takeaway.
Plans to change the Mcdonald’s at the Weston Lock retail park on Lower Bristol Road were submitted earlier this year.
Bath and North East Somerset Council approved the drive through proposal on June 7.
But the designs for the makeover were given the go-ahead on seven conditions.
Converting the Lower Bristol Road branch into a drive through will involve changes to how the site is accessed, car parking, a new drive through lane and the installation of booths where diners will pay and receive their food.
The Mcdonald’s is connected to the Grade II listed Avon House, a 19th century building, which required the plans to be sensitive to the site’s history.
Paul Pearson, who owns the franchise for both this Mcdonald’s and the Southgate branch in Bath, wrote to the council to explain a conservative estimate for the amount of new jobs a drive through would bring was 25 full-time equivalent roles. He told the council it could reach as many as 35.
He added: “The drive thru lane in itself creates new job positions that need to be filled.
“The drive through operation requires one order taker, one presenter and one runner at all times, and it’s important to bear in mind we trade for 18 hours (three shifts), seven days per week.
“At peak times we will put in place up to two additional runners, an order checker and a parked order runner.
“In addition to this, we will need to recruit or promote from within a drive through manager and recruit an additional exterior maintenance and cleanliness person.”
A total of 200 hourly paid staff are already employed across Bath’s two branches, as well as nine salaried managers, an HR director, area manager and resourcing manager, he explained.
The Mcdonald’s drive through plans will only go ahead if conditions are met including one regarding litter.
Litter guidance issued by Mcdonald’s in 2013 is attached to the new planning application.
It suggests four litter patrols per day for 24-hour restaurants, extending at least 150 metres from the restaurant boundary in all directions.
The guidance also encourages Mcdonald’s managers to support local litter picking schemes.
Another condition stated designs for the presenter booths at the drive through must be submitted before work can start on them. These were submitted as part of the June 28 application.