A new McDonalds is set to open in a closed-down former restaurant in Morecambe after plans were approved.
Lancaster City Council officers have given the green light to several planning applications from the fast food giant, with a number of conditions.
The site concerned is the former Frankie and Benny's and Burger King premises on Hillmore Way, just off Central Drive near Morrisons, which has been closed since 2020.
Permission granted includes for replacement doors and glazing, changes to the car parking layout and bin store area, landscaping including outdoor seating areas and planting, and a number of illuminated signs.
On each of the planning applications submitted being put to the vote, nine councillors voted in favour, with two against and two abstentions, meaning each proposal was approved.
Above: The former Frankie & Benny's site
A Lancaster City Council report, discussed on Tuesday (May 27) by councillors, said: "The building has extant consent for use as a restaurant with opening hours controlled by the 1995 consent, and as such a change of use and revised opening hours do not form part of this assessment.
"The application site has been empty and deteriorating for some time, and 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 amended scheme is also acceptable in terms of highways, pedestrian connectivity, noise, odour, and biodiversity.
"Therefore the proposal is compliant with the relevant local and national policies, and is recommended for approval.
"The existing building is in a poor condition. The proposed extensions and external alterations including removal of the existing detached bin compound would result in an improved visual amenity, and are appropriate given the setting of the wider commercial area."
The premises was originally built in the mid-1990s as a drive through Burger King takeaway, until Frankie & Benny’s took over the site in 2008, removing the drive through and extending into the former drive through lanes.
Frankie and Benny’s vacated the site in 2020, and it has remained disused since then.
The site is close to the Morrisons supermarket, Morrisons Petrol Station, B&M, The Range and Next shopping area, and car park.
Last year, plans for Burger King to open a drive-through on the site, were withdrawn.
Read more: EXCLUSIVE: Plans for Burger King drive-through in Morecambe axed - Beyond Radio
Planning permission was granted for a 'change of use to restaurant and drive through takeaway' at the site in June 2023, but Burger King shelved the plans.
McDonalds already has nearby outlets on Morecambe Road, in Lancaster city centre and at Caton Road in Lancaster.
Planning approval also comes on the same week that the company announced they had submitted an application for a McDonald’s in Carnforth, just off junction 35 of the M6.
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