New drive-thru restaurant could open in Merseyside

A new drive-through restaurant could be built at Switch Island, after plans were submitted to Sefton Council last week.

The applicant, Aver Property General Management Ltd, said it is “in discussions with several interest operators” for the drive-through eatery, which would be based at the Switch Island Leisure Park off Dunnings Bridge Road.

According to documents submitted to the local authority, the drive through would be close to the Odeon cinema and existing Subway drive through on the site, which already also has a McDonald’s drive through nearby.

Potential concerns: The development would involve the loss of some parking spaces from the retail park, which is described as “minor” and “not detrimental to the overall operation of the car park or the local highway network.”

While more traffic to the site is likely to be generated by the proposed drive through, the applicant states that it is expected that many of the trips will be stop-offs during existing trips “rather than a dedicated new trip.”

A transport statement produced as part of the application states that road safety record near Switch Island leisure park is “not considered to be a material concern in the context of the proposed development” as accidents that have occurred nearby over the past five years were “not not a result of existing highway layout.”

Have your say: The application is currently open for comments and can be viewed online with a decision is expected by the end of August.

Other drive-thru developments: Last week, plans for a 24-hour McDonald’s drive-through also were submitted to Knowsley Council.

The application asks for permission for the fast food giant to extend a unit that has already been built at  Knowsley Industrial Park, to enable them to occupy it as a 24-hour drive-through.

The site was previously given planning permission for a garage, drive through cafe and drive through restaurant, with work having completed on all units, two of which are operated by Shell and Starbucks.