McDonald’s drive-thru restaurant given green light in Fakenham near Lidl store in Holt Road

The “golden arches” are coming to a Norfolk town for the first time after councillors approved a new drive-thru restaurant.

North Norfolk District Council has granted permission for a McDonald’s site on the outskirts of Fakenham to open at the back of the Lidl store in Holt Road.

There had been objections from the environmental health team at North Norfolk District Council after officers worried the 24-hour nature of the restaurant could cause people living nearby to be affected by noise caused by vehicles coming in and out of the site.

The developer has since said it will only operate between 6am and midnight to avoid the risk of disturbing neighbours.

People living locally also complained it would lead to “traffic chaos” on the surrounding roads.

At a planning committee meeting this week, Tracey Bennett, who lives opposite, worried more cars would be pushed onto the “complex” intersection outside driveways and would turn into a “race track”.

She said: “This additional traffic will make the busy roads overloaded and potentially make the car park a race circuit.”

Ms Bennett called for more road safety measures to slow vehicles down to help stop people from going too fast if the restaurant is approved.

This was supported by Liz Vickers, a Fakenham councillor, who called on Norfolk County Council to do something about the problems in the area.

In support of the application, an agent for McDonalds said: “Our teams will ensure McDonalds has a positive impact on the area … It will deliver benefits for the local economy.”

He said staff will complete litter clean-ups around the site three times a day and will provide more bins off-site.

Despite the road safety concerns, the McDonalds site was approved with conditions.