Plans to turn the former Frankie & Benny's in Morecambe into a Burger King drive-through have been axed, Beyond Radio can reveal.
Planning permission was granted for the scheme at the site on Hilmore Way back in June 2023, when Lancaster City Council approved plans to convert the former Frankie and Benny's into a takeaway restaurant run by the global burger chain.
Related story:
Morecambe Burger King drive-through gets green light
The premises, on land near to Morrison's supermarket, was originally built in the mid-1990s as a drive-through Burger King takeaway until Italian-American restaurant chain Frankie & Benny's took over the site in 2008, removing the drive-through.
They vacated the site in 2020 and the building has been closed and boarded up ever since.
Plans for the drive-through were initially mooted back in March, 2023.
But they were withdrawn after a council planning report said the proposal failed "to provide adequate capacity for vehicles queuing to use the proposed drive through".
The company then came up with amended plans for the former Frankie and Benny's.
Representatives of Burger King had asked for a 'change of use' on the building to restore the drive-through, demolish extensions to the premises and install new windows.
A planning report at time stated: ‘’The application site has been empty and deteriorating for some time. The proposal would see the unit re-used, bringing it back into an active economic generating use and improving the visual condition of the building.’’
The revised scheme was all approved by planners, but work never commenced, and Beyond Radio can now reveal that the company have shelved the plans.
In a statement to Beyond Radio, a spokesperson said: ‘’Burger King UK is always seeking out opportunities for new restaurants, however, we can confirm that there are no longer plans to open at this site.”
Beyond Radio has asked the company to provide reasons for the u-turn on their plans in Morecambe, but we have been told they would not be providing any more information as to why they have scrapped the project.
The site is owned by Lancaster City Council, with any business operating there doing so on a lease agreement.
A spokesperson for Lancaster City Council said: “We are currently considering options for this important site, and the need to maintain commercial confidentiality prevents us from providing further information at this time."
Burger King also has a restaurant in Morecambe town centre, next to the Arndale, in addition to one in Lancaster, opened in October, 2022.
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