Third city centre McDonald’s decision deferred amid ‘gridlock’ warning

Plans to build a drive-thru McDonald’s on a busy Wrexham retail park have been put on hold as councillors have requested more information around traffic issues.

A previous application by the fast food chain to open a restaurant on the Plas Coch Retail Park was refused by councillors in June 2021 due to the impact on traffic and parking.

An appeal against the decision was later rejected by a planning inspector because of fears it would increase phosphate pollution levels in rivers – with the meeting reminded tonight, “…had it not been for the phosphorus issue planning permission would have been granted”.

The two-storey development, which McDonald’s said would create more than 120 jobs, will now be built on a car parking area which serves The Range and Farmfoods.

Significant concerns around traffic on the retail park were again voiced in the meeting tonight.

Wrexham’s chief planning officer recommended in the report before councillors that they should approve the application, noting “The traffic generation estimates for the restaurant itself have been based on analysis of other comparable restaurants and are considered acceptable.

The meeting was told, “The development would result in a small change to existing queues on the road, and would have a minimal impact on the highway network. So from that perspective there isn’t a highway objection to the application”.

“There is no objection from the highway officer”, there was no objections from the public protection officer around pollution and air quality concerns.

A total of 29 parking spaces are proposed to serve the restaurant, which Mr Fitzsimon said was considered “acceptable” by the council’s highways officer.

Cllr Marc Jones spoke first asking for a deferral of the decision, “The inference in the application is that there are no new grounds on which the inspector rejected the application.

“We have to bear in mind there are three key developments that have happened since it was before us and since the judgment was made.”

Cllr Jones pointed to the 90 new homes on the University campus – which now use Plas Coch Road for access – as well as 455 new homes that have been given permission, along with the new M&S store – and later mentioned the new Kop. Cllr Jones pointed to the 120 staff the new McDonalds could employ, pointing that could mean they were ‘expecting a significant increase in vehicle movements in an area that is already suffering congestion’.

Cllr Jones warned the development ‘could create gridlock’, “We have no provision if we grant this, we have no provision to undo this permission, even if it proves to be unsustainable”, later adding it was ‘small incremental pressures on one small part of the road network’.

The officer told the meeting that some of the issues mentioned had been taken account of, and again pointed out that planning permission would have been granted already if it wasn’t for the phosphates issue.

The officer said he ‘understood’ the traffic concerns raised but warned, “As the existing transport assessment demonstrates it’s robust. The transport assessments have been accepted by the highways officer. So in terms of your decision tonight, you would if you refuse planning permission, I think we would be in grave difficulty at appeal because we do not have any evidence to support that”.

Cllr David Bithell asked officers to listen to local councillors, “There are local highway issues” pointing to local bottlenecks and supported Cllr Jones’ view.

Cllr Hemmings said he had a ‘good relationship’ with the Chirk McDonalds in his area, noting litter picks that take place in close proximity of the restaurant. He suggested a condition to be made to formalise such litter picks, and encouraged councillors to build similar connections with the staff and management at the new development.

Cllr Graham Rogers said he also agreed with Cllr Jones’ points, adding that since the LDP ‘things have change dramatically’, adding it has “had a detrimental impact in relation to the traffic that’s going to be in and out of this site”.

Cllr Newton noted he had been to a McDonald’s and “didnt like it”, but still moved the officers recommendation to grant planning permission.

Cllr Jones’ suggested amendment to defer pending more detailed traffic information was also taken to a vote.

The deferral amendment was won at the vote 6 v 4, with a question from the Chair how many committee members had been ‘lost’ – appearing to be connectivity issues.

Those issues continued for anyone watching remotely, as the feed from the Guildhall cut out before the final vote was made public.

The matter could come back before the committee at a future date, or the applicant could opt a different route via non-determination.