Burger King faces battle in Sunderland as neighbours fight 24-hour plans for Ryhope Road drive-thru

In August an application was submitted to Sunderland City Council’s licensing section for the Burger King located in Ryhope Road.

The proposal seeks 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, meaning if the application was approved the restaurant would move a step closer to being able to serve customers 24 hours a day.

One of the conditions proposed as part of the premise licence for the site states “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 application has been scheduled to go before the city council’s licensing sub-committee on Monday, October 21, for a decision following several objections.

A response from Mr Mitchell Fitzsimmons, from the environmental health department at the city council, stated they would “not support the granting of this late-night refreshment licence”.

He said: “The granting of this licence would lead to noise typically generated at the drive-thru facility to be present during night-time hours.

“The presence of such noise could potentially result in a noise nuisance and nearby residents subsequently making complaints to the local authority.

“Noise from the drive-thru speaker system, the revving of car engines using the drive-thru, the opening/closing/slamming of car doors, sounding of horns and the playing of loud music may regularly occur and detrimentally impact upon nearby residents.”

Other concerns from the department include the car park at the facility potentially being used for antisocial behaviour and that it may encourage other businesses in the area to extend their hours, “again further increasing noise during night-time hours”.

Three residents also submitted concerns to the council over the application, although one later withdrew their objection.

They voiced similar worries, along with highlighting the “disgraceful” level of litter nearby and “increased” reports of vermin in the area.

One comment of support was submitted from a nearby resident, adding they had “no opposition” as long as “litter is kept to a minimum”, adding it would “create more jobs and be open for night shift workers”.

The application from Burger King stressed it will seek to comply with licensing regulations by ensuring thorough CCTV is in place at all times.

Other measures include “prominently” displaying notices requesting visitors leave quietly and respect local residents and businesses, carrying out recorded staff training and keeping an incident log.

A report from council officers notes although the premises is seeking to open for 24 hours a day it does not currently have planning permission to do so.

This means Burger King would 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.

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.

The proposals from Alisa3 Developments Ltd to open the Burger King, along with a wider development including a neighbouring KFC, were approved by city councillors in January 2020.

However, the plans were not without controversy, with several letters raising concerns about litter, traffic, highway safety, potential noise and the devaluation of nearby properties.

The licensing sub-committee meeting is scheduled to take place at 10am on Monday, October 21, at Sunderland City Hall.