PLANS for a new fast food drive-thru got the green light in Gwynedd.
The popular food chain Greggs looks set to open a new eatery at the Bangor Retail Park on Caernarfon Road.
Cyngor Gwynedd planners approved – with conditions – the erection of a new 167 sq.m drive-thru restaurant.
It came after it had received an application by company Paloma II, Industrial V, Unit Trust, through agent Josie Hobbs (Harris Lamb Ltd).
The drive-thru is planned for the south-west corner of the retail park, off the A4087 between the Range home store and Caprice furniture outlet.
The proposal also includes associated outside seating area, an EV charging area and customer parking bays. The area is already part of an existing one-way system, which the plans state would be “foreshortened.”
The plan also describes the loss of 34 parking spaces to the entire site, and some concerns were raised over loss of parking.
The proposal would see an area of existing car park replaced with “a drive-thru unit, drive-thru lane, external seating area and associated external works”.
A Transport Assessment (TA) supported the application and a flood risk summary stated that the site is generally at a ‘low’ risk of flooding from all sources.
However, a report noted that “mitigating measures” should be employed to “reduce residual risks” from surface water flooding on the development and to ensure that any “existing overland flood flow routes are maintained around the proposed building footprint”.
Environment officers also noted the site’s proximity to a historic landfill. The public protection service called for a desk study to be conducted to “assess the potential contamination risks at the site for the proposed development”.
The document stated that the responsibility for assessing whether or not the land was suitable for a particular purpose would “rest primarily with the developer”.
Under planning conditions development must not commence until a desk study is undertaken to assess “potential contamination risks on the site, details agreed in writing with the Local Planning Authority”.
A report stated: “Should the desk study recommendations indicate that further action is required an adequate intrusive investigation is required to assess the actual contamination risks at the site and if necessary a Remediation Strategy needs to be incorporated as part of the study and implemented prior to commencing the development.”
It also noted that “should any contaminated land issues become evident during the development that may impact on the proposed development, eg. should unusual ground conditions be encountered, then correspondence should be entered to immediately with the Public Protection Service”.
Reasons for the environmental conditions were “considered necessary to safeguard the occupants of the site and surrounding”.
