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Residents await decision date for food and retail park near Garstang after huge public response

The public response to a planning application for a new McDonald’s, Starbucks and Screwfix near Garstang has been so huge that comments have still been coming in – eight months after the application was re-submitted.

The public response to a planning application for a new McDonald’s, Starbucks and Screwfix near Garstang has been so huge that comments have still been coming in – eight months after the application was re-submitted.

The new site, off Garstang Bypass Road,  will be called Claughton-on-Brock Trade Park and is being developed by Toll Bar Ltd, a sister company of J. Robinson Building Contractors Ltd, a local, family-run firm.

The application has attracted mixed opinions, predominantly strong objections but also some keen support from other residents.

Now locals are awaiting a date for the application to go before Wyre’s planning committee, hoping that a meeting will be imminent after the updated proposals were lodged back in January.

The amended plans were validated on January 17 and since then Wyre’s planning portal has been inundated with more than 450 comments, with opinions very much divided over the controversial proposals.

More than half are objecting to the proposals, with fears that resulting traffic disruption, noise, litter and anti-social behaviour will make life unbearable for residents of the nearest community Catterall, a village less than half a mile away.

However, there is still some sizeable support for the plans, with some pointing to the convenience and the job opportunities the scheme would bring.

The application is a larger variation of proposals already approved by Wyre planners last year.

Outline planning permission was granted in August 2023 for an application which included a 400 square metre café/restaurant for the Claughton-on-Brock Trade Park, along with the other units.

However, the more recent application includes plans to increase the McDonalds cafe/restaurant to 523 square metres and is also seeking a 24-hour opening time for it.

The latest proposals are for a proposed mixed-use development made up of three storage and distribution units (Use Class B8), one office unit  (Use Class E(g)(i)) and two cafe/restaurant units with a drive-thru (Use Class E(b)/Sui Generis), including new access and associated works.

No decision has been made on the proposals by planners at this stage, but additional documents and comments have continued to be added to the application.

What they say

Comments have continued to come in.

One more recent objector stated: “I object to this. Why would we be in favour of building more fast food restaurants? We should be encouraging people to eat healthy.

“This is a market town where we support locally produced food, market gardeners growing fruit and vegetables, and local farmers. We don’t want big chains being built, if that’s what people want they are available in Preston or Lancaster.

“People who live or move to this area don’t want this, we live here to be away from that. We don’t want more animal habitats being disrupted, more trees being cut down, we don’t want litter being dumped, we don’t want the visual impact being affected.”

Another resident, who lives close to the application site, said: “I think there needs to be more consideration for the residential houses near this development.

“We already suffer due to the parking for the co-op and nearby shops and now we have to deal with there being a 24-hour fast food restaurant nearby which will no doubt also attract people to the area at all times of day and night.

“It would no doubt increase the pollution and noise when we are trying to settle our children for the night. In addition to this I believe this will increase the crime rate and safety of our neighbourhood and the local police simply do not have the numbers to manage such a change.”

However, some residents welcome the new amenities which the proposals would bring.

One supporter said: “With the cost of living crisis, cheap places to eat with good portion sizes are needed. McDonald’s is very popular and the nearest one is Lancaster or Preston.”

Another said: “I think many on a low budget will greatly welcome this, it will bring people into the area and boost local employment and wider business. It’s a great idea.”

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