No need for drive-through, say locals who wanted restaurant
RESIDENTS RAISE CONCERNS OVER QUEUING AND LITTER
PLANS to build a drive-through fastfood restaurant as part of a new housing development in Derbyshire have prompted anger from residents.
Peveril Securities wants to built the structure on the site of its 600-home Lily Street Farm scheme, off Derby Road, Swanwick.
The plans have been submitted as part of an application for the restaurant and for infrastructure after outline planning permission for the scheme was granted by Amber Valley Borough Council in 2016.
However, the plans have sparked criticism from residents, who say they were told the original plan was for a pub or restaurant to be put on the site, and not a drivethrough.
Previous approved plans for the site had been given the goahead for the owners to build 600 homes, a primary school, a medical centre and shops.
As part of this, the developer was given permission to build a pub or restaurant, although no details were given as to what form this would take and who would run it.
Planning documents suggest the drive-through would have 34 parking spaces, three of which would be disabled spaces, as well as cycle parking and room for outdoor dining.
The documents show there will also be a dining area inside the restaurant, while to the west of the drive-through there will be a run-off for surface water.
The drive-through would be located on the northeast portion of the development, close to the entrance to the site and next to the bus stop on Derby Road.
The plans have angered residents, who say it is not what they were promised when the original planning application was approved.
In a letter of objection to the council, one person wrote that it seemed “totally against the original proposal”.
Another wrote: “The original application was for a restaurant and not a drive-through restaurant (fast food). This only encourages further one-off traffic to the area and an increased level of litter. Please reconsider as the area does need a restaurant for the local area.”
Another said: “A drive-through is not needed, there are numerous drive-throughs and takeaways within a very close area. At peak times, these are all creating road blocks as the car parks can’t handle the volume, so vehicles queue/park on the roads both before and after visiting the drivethrough. Rubbish is often thrown into hedge bottoms, which encourage vermin in the areas. Planning permission was granted for a restaurant, which is what is needed in the area, there is nothing of the kind locally.”
Another person added they felt a pub would foster a “community feel” by encouraging locals to go there, something they felt a drive-through would not.
The full application can be viewed on the Amber Valley Borough Council planning portal under the reference AVA/2021/0447.
A drive-through is not needed, there are numerous drive-throughs and takeaways within a very close area.
Resident