A new McDonald’s drive-thru for Rochdale has been rejected due to the potential impact on public health.
It has been over a decade since the last Rochdale town centre McDonald’s site closed its doors on Yorkshire Street in 2011. The US chain was hoping to bring an end to that 15 year absence with a new restaurant on Molesworth Street.
The site would have been open all hours, created up to 120 new jobs and brought 37 car parking spaces to the empty plot on the corner of Molesworth Street and Water Street, according to planning agent Lichfields.
But Rochdale council’s planning officers have rejected the scheme from the fast food chain due to a lack of ‘evidence that clearly discounts an adverse impact upon the health outcomes in both children and adults’. The decision letter also mentions the site being in an area where ‘dire and declining health outcomes’ in children and adults can in part be linked to poor dietary choices.
A lack of pedestrian and cycle access to the site was also a factor in why the application was refused by the local authority.
Currently, the nearest McDonald’s locations to the town centre are the restaurants at Sandbrook Park Retail Park and Kingsway Business Park. Planning papers have mentioned these two other McDonald’s drive-thrus, linking antisocial behaviour (ASB) and hot food takeaways (HFTs).
Antisocial behaviour was not a factor listed in the reasons for refusal, but was considered by planning officers.
A planning report read: “A total of 140 police-reported ASB incidents were recorded within the PSPO (Public Space Protection Order) zone; an average of 12 each month. The majority of incidents were reports of rowdy or inconsiderate behaviour and vehicle nuisance.
“Within the PSPO zone, a number of locations including Water Street were noted as repeat locations for ASB. In addition, the review highlights incidents of ASB at the location of other drivethrough restaurants operated by McDonald’s in Rochdale.
“Sandbrook Park attracted 23 police-reported ASB incidents over the previous 12 months which predominantly related to rowdy or inconsiderate behaviour, of which four related to McDonald’s. 26 police reported road-related incidents were recorded in the same period at Sandbrook Park which related to erratic driving, intoxicated drivers and drug use within vehicles.
“At Kingsway Business Park, a total of 10 police-reported ASB incidents were recorded over the previous 12 months, 3 of which related to McDonald’s. Incidents at both locations related to people refusing to leave the restaurant and violent behaviour.”
The site where the new restaurant was proposed currently acts as a car park off the main road. The underused land is surrounded by other large businesses from the retail and automotive sectors.
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