Thursday, October 23, 2025
HomeNewsGreen light for Stanningley McDonald's drive thru plans

Green light for Stanningley McDonald’s drive thru plans

By John Baron

Plans for a new drive thru McDonald’s restaurant in Stanningley have today been approved in principle by councillors.

Proposals include a new restaurant building, external seating and parking, alongside new vehicular access off Town Street, which would be shared with a previously approved residential development for 40 homes on the eastern part of the site.

Around 85 new full and part-time jobs will be created at the restaurant, which will open daily from 6am-11pm.

Councillor Kevin Ritchie (Lab, Bramley & Stanningley) spoke against the application at today’s south and west plans panel meeting in Leeds Civic Hall.

He raised issues regarding highways safety, the location of a proposed pedestrian crossing and increased traffic on an already busy road.

Cllr Ritchie also raised concerns over rising obesity levels caused by the supply of fast food. He added: “Factors contributing to the crisis include the consumption of energy-dense foods.”

Cllr Tom Hinchcliffe (Lab, Bramley & Stanningley) added concerns over pollution and asthma, which he said could be exacerbated by pollution from queuing traffic.

Annie Newman, senior acquisitions surveyor at McDonald’s, said the land was an underutilised brownfield site which would be ‘brought back into positive use’. She said a new zebra crossing, upgraded cycle lane and footpath improvements ‘will benefit the community’.

Ms Newman also pointed to apprenticeship options, the inclusion of measure to prevent noise and odour problems, and daily litter picks to keep the site tidy.

She said McDonald’s had carried out an ‘intensive programme’ of highways assessments to ensure the impact of the proposed housing development next to the site had been taken into account.

Council planning officers argued that the impact of the restaurant would be minimal from a traffic perspective and said that the site used to house businesses including the North Sea Chinese Restaurant and the Old Roundabout public house.

Local views on the development appear to be split, with 56 letters in support, and 57 objecting.

McDonald’s plans were approved in principle, subject to McDonald’s agreeing to a raft of conditions. These include the monitoring and possible extension of the litter picking area around the new restaurant and an agreement regarding local employment.

Watch the full meeting below:

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