KFC wants to open restaurant and drive-through off A40 for even longer

Phil Norris
·2-min read
The KFC at Arle Court, Cheltenham
-Credit: (Image: Submitted)


A popular fast-food restaurant and drive-through off one of the busiest roads in the county wants to be able to open longer. The KFC in Hatherley Lane, Cheltenham, wants to be serving customers for an extra three hours a day.

The KFC on the western edge of Cheltenham is near the A40 Arle Court roundabout, not far from junction 11 for the M5 and GCHQ. It's next to the Harvester restaurant and Travelodge hotel - it's across the road from the Arle Court Transport Hub that is in the final stages of construction.

At the moment, the KFC is only allowed to open from 6am to 11.30pm. But an application to Cheltenham Borough Council seeks to extend this.

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It wants to be able to open from 6am to 2.30am, changing the restriction on hours that had been put in place to safeguard the amenities of people living nearby. But a covering letter from McLoughlin Planning, on behalf of KFC, said employees at the KFC report that passing trade is still generated during this three-hour period and customers currently have to be turned away.

It said: "The Applicant’s position is that this demand can be met by extending the opening hours, whilst still safeguarding the living conditions of neighbouring residents, thus complying with the spirit of the original condition this application seeks to vary. The immediate neighbouring commercial business that is still operational during this period is the Travelodge Hotel, insofar as guests will be in their hotel rooms during this time.

"The Harvester Restaurant (on the ground floor of the Travelodge) closes at 2300 and any guests checking in late do not have any food options available to them. Any disturbances created by KFC customers using the restaurant or drive-through during the additional three-hour period would not have a material impact on the guests staying in the Travelodge.

"This is because there is no internal connection between the KFC restaurant and the hotel, making it difficult for any noises to penetrate through to the hotel rooms. Any background noise created by vehicles using the drive-through would be heard in the context of vehicles travelling through Arle Court Roundabout and the Arle Court Transport Hub.."

The application also says that the 24-hour nature of the transport hub means there will be traffic noise in the area: "The transient noises created by cars pulling into the KFC would be no noisier than vehicles travelling along Hatherley Lane or from those pulling into, or out of, the Transport Hub."

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