Plans for Taco Bell drive-thru lane in Grantham despite previous refusal due to traffic concerns

An application has been submitted for a Mexican restaurant drive-thru, despite a similar proposal being refused last year.

A planning application for a Taco Bell drive-thru lane in the former Pizza Hut site on London Road, which includes demolition of part of the existing building, has been submitted.

The original proposal for the new Mexican restaurant chain included a drive-thru, but this was refused in September 2021 by South Kesteven District Council over safety concerns due to increased traffic in the area.

However, a revised plan, which removed the drive-thru element, was approved conditionally in December 2021, although residents continued to express concerns the "everlasting bottleneck" caused by McDonald's customers on the junction of London Road and Bridge End Road, opposite the soon-to-be Taco Bell site.

The latest submission by Taco Bell highlights the wish to add a drive-thru provision to the new Grantham restaurant, with the new plans stating that "discussions have continued with the Highway Authority to address the refusal reason" since September of last year.

In the decision document refusing the original drive-thru application, planning officers said: "The proposed development would significantly increase the amount of traffic at the Gainsborough Corner junction (A52/Springfield Road/B1174 junction) resulting in an unacceptable impact on the highways network, in terms of capacity and adverse impact on highway safety."

The planning statement said that the completion of the Grantham Southern Relief Road and associated Southern Quadrant Link Road will "have a significant impact in reducing traffic flows within Grantham" and that an assessment of the Gainsborough Corner Junction shows that "the impact of the drive-thru element is not material with no perceivable impact on capacity, delay or on queues".

Also noted in the plans is that the proposed drive-thru has the capacity to accommodate up to eight vehicles and that the proposed new restaurant will create up to 35 new jobs, comprising of a mix of 20 part-time positions and 15 full-time positions.