Council planning officers recommend approval for McDonald’s at former David Copperfield site

The former David Copperfield at Westwood

Thanet council’s planning department is recommending councillors approve an application to turn the former David Copperfield Harvester at Westwood into a McDonald’s restaurant and drive through.

A single storey side extension will be built following partial demolition of the building. The application also proposes changes to the site including the reconfiguration of car parking, landscaping, the creation of a drive through and a mini-roundabout to the east of the building.

Changes to the original application include:

  • The original proposed unrestricted 24/7 opening hours have been amended to 3am – 11pm each day.
  • The use of the remote car park to the south of the application site is now proposed to be restricted to between the hours of 7am – 9pm only, with retractable bollards used to control this.
  • The site layout has been amended and the provision of soft landscaping has increased.
  • The layout of the proposed drive-through has been reconfigured.
  • The originally proposed 2.4m high acoustic fence to the southern boundary has been increased in height to 3m.

Twelve letters of objection have been received with five related to the amended scheme.

Concerns raised include police having previously been called to attend to ease congestion at KFC before there is a McDonalds drive through;  noise, disturbance and smell; sound pollution from cars; air pollution and anti-social behaviour with residents saying the “car park is used as a race track by young drivers.”

A response from Kent Police to the new application highlights several issues including that the retractable bollards “will not address the potential for vehicles gaining access” and instead there should be a suitable gate with

The force wants proposed CCTV to be monitored and at least on screen should be seen from inside the unit to demonstrate that it is live.

The application has been ‘called in’ to be decided by committee by Cllr Mike Garner who has raised concerns regarding an increase in traffic, pollution, noise, disturbance and litter associated with the proposed use and concerns regarding health given the proximity of the site to St George’s CofE Foundation School.

The David Copperfield Harvester shut on April 1 last year.

Thanet council’s planning department recommends the application is approved, with conditions, when the committee meets on May 20.

23 Comments

  1. we have enough fast food restaurants
    you could have let it turn into a young peoples youth hub
    how is encouraging young people to eat junk food going to help the school
    you have no idea on how to run this town the lot of you at TDC and the other off shoots of the fast food councils
    or give it to the need of the community for food parcels

  2. I thought the government said not to open fast food places near schools?,you got the health department and NHS saying that there is to much over weight children/teenagers so why not open a fast food place across the road,?

  3. Hopefully those that publish in here will go to the TDC portal and make a valid objection

  4. Another McDonald’s, couldn’t get much nearer to the schools, actually you could have built it in the school grounds.

    So another McDonald’s, just what we need.

    In your extention, perhaps you could also build another vape shop, junk shop, or barbers, we could also do with a few more of them.

  5. Unfortunately there is a significant yob Element at fast food places not only McDonald’s but KFC is another example where yobs accumulate around these outlets making a nuisance of themselves on their bikes and the a boy racers in their silly little cars that make more noise than a bus. They are then in the habit of dumping the rubbish of takeaway packaging all over the surrounding areas. The one noticeable thing about this lockdown has been NO McDonald’s KFC or Costa Coffee rubbish in the road or on the grass verges as is the normal when they are open. I think these outlets should pay 100% more business rates than others for the risk to health in helping To make people fat and for making our towns a mess. In fairness to McDonalds they always keep their own sites clean it’s the rest of the towns that get the mess from them.

    • I regularly get McD’s wrappings dumped outside my house, regularly – and I live over a mile from the nearest outlet!

  6. Further to my last Burger King at Westwood are another fast food outlet that help to make the streets dirty.

  7. No doubt the fact that 999 responses by paramedics who get trapped into selfish road users traffic jams along the entire route will not be taken into account by T.D.C. and we have more than enough congestion which the roundabouts have not improved, just as A28 Westgate always vehicles parked along near side carriageway but once again never enforced and as a result several RTIs formerly RTA, THEN RTC have meant the only useable lane gets blocked solid until Police on scene deployed separately for traffic duties. TDC needs to address existing issues before allowing yet more fast food in the area, why do we deserve yet further abuse verbal and to our planet to replicate yet further pollution both sound and environmental, not to mention the number of close calls to pedestrians from the school and nearby campus and cyclists.

  8. WHY, WHY do we need yet another rubbish strewing fast food outlet in the Westwood area, AND right in front of a large school?? What are the TDC planners thinking of? As for traffic congestion, rubbish and anti social behaviour, that will all increase. Simply wrong!

  9. Litter litter & more litter I wonder what councillor has been given a back hander to get this pushed through?

  10. The planning department should not be able to “recommend” it be passed as they are there to ask for views from residents who obviously don’t want it and who can blame them? Are the council prepared to pick up the tab for litter and the nhs for health implications?? Disgraceful and unacceptable.

  11. Disgusting- this council are a complete mess and have absolutely no concern for their residents health and wellbeing. Or the aesthetics of their borough. McDs is ugly and unhealthy….. shame on you… it’s all about the £££££££££
    It is also clear from the comments above that no resident wants this so why or why?

  12. Not opposite a school! I thought the Government were to make laws against new fast food outlets opening near schools because of the obesity levels rising among school age children. Does the head of St George’s school have anything to say about this ? They should.
    This just shows that the Planning dept at TDC are out of touch with reality and morals. If money is flashed in front by big companies they put their hands out to grab it no questions asked.
    Maybe it would be better as an Asda Petrol Station or Community centre, but definitely not another McDonalds or other fast food takeaway.

  13. I would be very interested in what the Head Teachers and Governors think of this scheme from the local secondary schools nearby – St George’s, Dane Court and Charles Dickens.

    • I suspect the local schools, will be quite happy about it. It means they will have another car park, where groups can gather, and make themselves a danger, pulling wheelies across the car park.

    • Yet another ridiculous waste of time comment from the ‘Marva Rees’ ?‍♂️

      We really don’t need yet another MD’s in Thanet, let alone in such close proximity to schools, the rubbish that accumulates in our streets as a result of ‘Drive Thru’s’ is embarrassing, obviously not to the outlets otherwise they would do more to combat it, they are also a magnet to the low intelligent among us, which in turn brings anti social behaviour.

      If only it were as simple as “If no resident wants it, it will soon go out of business” ?…..?

      • What does the little picture after my name in Buck Rogers’ 11.28 posting mean? It’s so small I can’t see any details . I don’t know what the last one means either.

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