A fast-food restaurant in Sunderland has been refused licensing permission to serve until 2am on weekends via its drive-thru – although a one hour extension for every day has been secured.

An application submitted to Sunderland City Council’s licensing section in August for the Burger King located in Ryhope Road initially sought to allow the site to serve 24/7 via its drive-thru.

The proposal looked to licence the store to provide “late-night refreshment”, which is needed to sell hot food and drink between 11pm and 5am, for the entirety of that six-hour period, seven days a week.

The provision of hot food or hot drink outside of these times does not need a licence.

placeholder image — Burger King, Ryhope Road, Sunderland.

The application stated “the sales of hot food and drink are to be via the drive-thru facility only from 23:00 and the internal restaurant will be closed from this time”.

The proposal went before the council’s licensing sub-committee for a decision on Monday (October 21), where it was revealed the fast food giant had reduced the hours they were applying for.

Council officers outlined how representatives from Burger King were now looking for permission to provide “late night refreshment” via its drive-thru on Friday and Saturday nights from 11pm until 2am, and until midnight every other day.

Alex Tomlinson, solicitor on behalf of Burger King, said the alterations came following conversations with local authority officers which helped them understand the “nuances” about the area.

However objections still remained to the fast food chain’s proposals from two residents and the council’s environmental health department.

After hearing evidence from both sides, the sub-committee ultimately decided to grant the site a licence to serve “late night refreshment” via its drive-thru for just one hour until midnight each day.

The restaurant, and its drive-thru, currently close at 11pm and open at 7am.

The decision came as the committee had “concerns” about the site “fully implementing noise management systems going forward”, but at the same time they wanted to “encourage business in the city of Sunderland”.

Mr Tomlinson had put forward the case for Burger King to be able to serve via its drive-thru until 2am on weekends, noting the business was looking to “extend into the late night trade” across its stores.

Speaking at the meeting, he said: “There are of course concerns about creating noise nuisance for local residents, it’s one of the things that we want to avoid, it’s not good for us, it’s not good for the residents and it’s not good for the council.

“It’s not good for us if there is litter all over the place with Burger King on it, and it’s not good for the local residents, it’s not something that we want.

“We can actively encourage people to use the bins provided, we can have notices up saying please do not litter within the local vicinity.”

He also stressed a noise management plan would be in place prior to operating for the extended hours to ensure those using the drive-thru would not cause nuisance to those living nearby.

The meeting heard examples of measures could include working with delivery services and actively managing who comes through the site, reducing noise from loudspeakers and carrying out litter picks.

Mitchell Fitzsimmons, from the environmental health department at the city council, said they had nuisance concerns over the application due to how close residential properties are, adding the closest are just 16 metres away.

He added: “If the application is granted, there is a very real risk of occupiers at these nearest dwellings being impacted by late night night-time noise.

“During warmer months it is reasonable to conceive that occupiers will look to open windows to cool properties during the night; if there is excessive noise from the premises it might be that they are not able to do this.

“If the hours were increased it is likely that this could draw vehicles to the area that wouldn’t otherwise by present and contribute to that general noise increase from traffic.

He continued: “As customers will attend the drive-thru it’s then possible that they will use the car park to then consume the food they’ve purchased, and noise associated with this would be present during these quieter night-time hours.”

Two objections were also submitted from nearby residents who raised similar worries, along with concerns around potential vermin and litter.

However council environmental health officers noted this is “not something we’ve had complaints of recently”.

The meeting heard Burger King will also need to apply to the city council to amend its existing planning permission to allow the restaurant to operate outside of its current permitted hours of 7am until 11pm.

Representatives on behalf of the fast-food giant noted they will be lodging a planning application to alter these hours in due course after making the decision to first submit the licensing application as it was more “cost effective”.

The fast food restaurant at Salterfen Park opened in October 2022, marking a return for the chain to Sunderland after the previous city centre branch closed to make way for the new railway station.

Following the conclusion of the hearing, council legal officers noted either side has the opportunity to appeal the decision to the magistrates’ courts if they wish.