Plans to convert a KFC restaurant in Bedford into a drive-thru have been rejected due to concerns over road safety and a potential “risk to lives.” The Bedford Borough Planning Committee turned down the application from Alderforce Limited, which proposed adding a drive-thru lane and reducing the restaurant size at the corner of Goldington Road and Bury Walk.
The decision followed a deferral last month to allow committee members to observe traffic at the site, amid concerns about its impact on road safety. During Monday’s meeting, several councillors raised issues with the layout, which features a single access point for both entry and exit.
Councillors noted that when they visited the site, vehicles had to straddle both entry and exit lanes. They warned that the proposed layout would require cars to make tight U-turns to exit onto a busy dual carriageway, potentially endangering pedestrians and cyclists on the nearby path.
“There’s no way whatsoever my car – a Volvo – would make it,” said Cllr Wendy Rider. “I’d have to go slightly over onto the exit to get onto a very fast road. There’s no way I’d be risking my life to go to KFC. It’s so, so dangerous.”
Cllr Jonathan Abbott noted that the speed limit on the road had recently been reduced to 30mph to improve safety.
However, concerns remained about the design, which one councillor criticized as seeming to accommodate only “1970s minis.”
Although the plans were rejected, there was a suggestion that Alderforce Limited could submit a revised application addressing these concerns. One councillor recommended introducing an additional access point on Bury Walk to ease traffic flow.
Related topics:
- Chick-fil-A to Open First Location in Elkhart
- First Look Inside Anglia Retail Park Taco Bell in Ipswich
- New McDonald’s Shiba Inu Pie Packaging Charms Customers in Japan