New Burger King drive-thru planned for Skelmersdale's Concourse Shopping Centre
The eatery says its presence would give the nearby shops a boost.
Burger King has launched a bid to build a new branch alongside a West Lancashire shopping centre.
The fast food chain wants to open a drive-thru restaurant on land next to The Concourse in Skelmersdale - just yards from existing McDonald's and KFC outlets.
The green space, off Northway, has been the subject of several proposals over more than 30 years, but none has ever come to fruition.
An application submitted to West Lancashire Borough Council on behalf of real estate dealer Quillpoint Capital Properties No1 Limited states that the proposal would be "significantly smaller” than those previously approved and notes that no concerns have been raised about it by highways chiefs at Lancashire County Council.
Burger King says the new eatery - which would accommodate 45 seated customers - will create 35 full and part-time jobs.
The proposed opening hours of 8am-11pm, Sunday to Thursday, and 8am-midnight on Fridays and Saturdays match those of the neighbouring KFC. The nearby McDonald's operates 24 hours a day.
The application documentation clamis that the presence of a Burger King would make The Concourse “more desirable” to customers.
It adds: “The…site currently comprises a relatively low-value area of amenity grassland situated between the principal shopping centre car park and Northway.
“Whilst the land contributes little towards the operational function of the shopping centre, it occupies a highly sustainable town centre location capable of accommodating additional commercial development without compromising the wider operation of the retail centre or the appearance of the area.”
Plans for a petrol station on the site were withdrawn in 1994. Seven years later, the green light was given to a new two-storey retail facility which would have contained five units - but that was never built.
In 2003, an application to build a pub was dropped before a decision was made and then in 2005 a blueprint for a pair of retail facilities - including one hot food takeaway - was approved, but never delivered.