Plan to tackle traffic issues included in bid for major revamp of Sunderland McDonald's branch

Sunderland City Council’s planning department has received an application for the eatery off North Moor Road in the Silksworth ward.

This included the creation of a new vehicle access to the site, single-storey building extensions, an extra drive-thru booth, replacement patio furniture and more.

The plans fall against a backdrop of separate proposals for a new retail park development on the former Farringdon Hall Police Station site nearby.

Supporting documents submitted to local authority bosses provide more information about the McDonald’s scheme which aims to remedy existing issues at the North Moor Road site.

This includes traffic queues at the drive thru “restricting” access to a nearby convenience store car park and the McDonald’s car park if there are more than 14 vehicles waiting in the drive thru lane.

Another issue outlined by the applicant includes service delays due to customers and couriers using the same entrance and collection area.

Planning documents state new proposals would help to “address the layout constraints” of the existing site and “better accommodate” customer and delivery demand”, while also improving facilities for staff.

If approved, the proposals would increase the number of seats in the dining area by 12.

Building extension works would also provide a new crew room and cash booth window, a window for the fast forward booth and a new delivery collection area with a separate entrance and collection counter for delivery drivers.

Elsewhere, the redesigned McDonald’s drive thru would be able to accommodate an extra eight vehicles, taking the drive thru lane’s capacity up to 22 vehicles.

Customers would also access the site from a new “separate priority junction” further along North Moor Road, while the existing access would be retained but would only serve the Simply Local convenience store..

The planning statement claims the measures would “positively improve the operation of the restaurant and experience for customers, McDelivery couriers and staff” and would help “better manage the existing demand”.

The planning statement adds: “The separate access design, increased drive thru capacity and provision of the fast forward booth would reduce the likelihood of the drive thru queue affecting the circulation of restaurant customers and convenience store customers wishing to use the respective car parks and would reduce the likelihood of queuing on North Moor Road.

“This would mean that the car parking provided although slightly lower would also be utilized more efficiently.

“There would be dedicated facilities for McDelivery Drivers which would improve the experience for couriers and customers, reduce delays and duration of couriers on site.

“There would be sustainable travel improvements proposed for staff with the provision of an improved crew room and storage facilities. There would be new cycle parking for both staff and customers.

“We trust that the above sufficiently addresses the transportation implications of the development proposals and that there is no reason why the highway authority should not recommend the scheme for approval.”

A decision on the application will be made later this year once a period of council consultation has concluded.

For more information on the application, visit Sunderland City Council’s online planning portal and search reference: 22/01815/FUL