Bishop’s Stortford Town Council questions the specification for a ‘hot food takeaway’ at St James’ Park

Bishop’s Stortford Town Council has battered McDonald’s plans for a fast-food restaurant at St James’ Park.

The council’s planning and development committee believed that outline planning permission granted in 2019 for a “hot food takeaway” at the 750-home estate’s neighbourhood centre was never intended to authorise the drive-thru operation now proposed by the multi-national burger business.

At a meeting on Monday, members considered a letter supporting the reserved matters submission from McDonald’s and Central Co-op, which plans a store as part of the local centre. There will also be provision for another café, gym, community centre and nursery.

Cllr Diane Hollebon, a member of East Herts Council (EHC) for Bishop’s Stortford South, addressed the meeting. She said residents could reasonably have expected a takeaway to include fish and chips, Chinese or Indian food to pick up and eat at home, but not a McDonald’s drive-thru attracting customers from a wide area.

She said traffic problems caused by such operations were already evident at Stansted Airport and at the Rush Green roundabout in Hertford.

Cllr Hollebon urged the committee to object to the application: “I’m not against McDonald’s, but this location is totally wrong... It’s in the wrong place. A takeaway is fine but not a drive-thru.”

She has “called in” the application so it will be determined by councillors on EHC’s development management committee and not delegated to planning officers.

Her concerns about the scope of the permission for a takeaway, litter, anti-social behaviour and the impact on students at the new Bishop’s Stortford High School were shared by the town councillors.

Cllr David Jacobs noted that the planning classification system used in 2019 to permit a takeaway changed the following year and that supporting healthier lifestyles was now a consideration.

He said that if permission was granted, stringent conditions should be implemented to limit queuing to order at McDonald’s and limit opening hours. “I think we should object to planning permission in any event,” he said.

The committee agreed to scrutinise the application in detail over the next three weeks before confirming its objections when it next meets on October 14.