Fakenham's first McDonald's allowed despite opposition
The planning proposal was put forward by Kevin Foley, who already owns 13 branches of McDonald's in Norfolk as a franchise.
While the proposal had been debated by councillors, according to the National Planning Policy Framework, which guides planning decisions, councils should refuse applications for fast-food outlets "within walking distance" of schools, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said. The proposed McDonald's is within a 20-minute walk of Fakenham Academy, Duke of Lancaster Academy, Fakenham Junior School and Fakenham Infant and Nursery School. Following a complaint over the handling of the application, the authority agreed to reconsider the proposals at a planning committee meeting. Despite this, council officials determined all four schools were a suitable distance away.People living in the area also previously expressed concern over increased traffic, noise, litter and competition for local businesses. The site would create up to 120 full and part-time jobs, McDonald's said.
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The Independent
37 minutes ago
- The Independent
UK politics live: Rachel Reeves says she was ‘clearly upset' but it was her job to support government at PMQs
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BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Ipswich businesses' frustrations at Orwell Bridge work 'failure'
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BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Mixed feelings on closure of Lowestoft's last remaining nightclub
A coastal town is set to lose its last remaining nightclub after its closing event on Nightclub, on the first floor of The Harbour Inn in Lowestoft, has faced increased costs and dwindling customer young people who spoke to the BBC said they prefer to go out in Norwich where there is a greater variety of venues, or watch live music David Moss said the ground-floor pub would remain open, but for the club space, he added: "We've tried everything we can to keep Lowestoft's only club going, but it's just become unviable now." Mr Moss, who employs 220 staff across nine venues in Suffolk, began his business in Colchester in the 1980s."Times have changed. Since Covid, youngsters today are not like 25 years ago [where] people couldn't wait to finish work to go out on a Thursday night, Friday night and Saturday, always clubbing," he said."Now you've got pubs which are open until one o'clock in the morning. They've got live music. They [customers] don't need to go anywhere else."Also, they've changed. Young people who come out of university and work for me, so many of them don't even drink."I go around the different places and have a look at what's going on. I go down to Norwich and even those streets are quiet." Mr Moss said employment costs, with increases in the National Minimum Wage and National Insurance, undermined the club's viability, but added that he hopes to redeploy the club's staff. "From April we knew it would start putting things into the wrong position."To be fair, we couldn't put our prices up. People have only got so much to spend and the more you're getting taxed and everything increased."We didn't want to come to this, but even with the simple licencing, we have to have six security people on."You're [paying] £21 an hour [to each of them] and they've got to be there five or six hours, and that's before you've got your DJs and everything. With the sheer cost of everything, it's not viable." The BBC spoke to some young people in Plant, 24, said: "I started off at 18, it was [called] Faith [then], so I was used to the sticky floors. But when it turned to Mossy's it was quite nice, had a nice atmosphere."You had lots of 18 year olds who wanted to get drunk but a nice group of people. The drinks were alright; it was just a fun atmosphere."It's sad because we had the [club] on the pier and that didn't last very long, and there's not much nightlife here any more."She added: "Most people my age tend to go to Norwich. There's a lot more nightlife in Norwich... and that's where everyone seems to go."There's train stations in Lowestoft and Oulton Broad so it's easy to get there, so that's probably why there's not a lot here." Emily Stedman, 18, said: "I've never been there but what I've heard is it's made for teenagers who want to have a good night out. They have music and have a drink and socialise, and I think it's a good opportunity to make friends."Sophie Scupham, 22, said: "I think it does bring people together in Lowestoft. It is a good place to go and it allows people to be themselves. It will be sad to see it close." Bailey Woollard, 20, said he goes out in Oulton Broad, and enjoyed live music at the First Light Festival in Lowestoft, rather than going clubbing."I think the clubbing scene is dying out now. I think the younger generation is getting a bit distant with it," he said. "It does include me. I've had my days, done my years, and had my fun. I think it might upset the generation which is now coming up, but for most of us, I don't think a lot of us will be that bothered." Poppy Stopforth, 21, was surprised to hear about Mossy's closure: "That's kind of crazy. It's been one of Lowestoft's landmarks for a while."I'm 21 and I used to go a bit more when I was 18, but I stopped drinking completely so it's not going to be a big change in my life, but I have a few friends who are probably going to be devastated." Follow East of England news on X, Instagram and Facebook: BBC Beds, Herts & Bucks, BBC Cambridgeshire, BBC Essex, BBC Norfolk, BBC Northamptonshire or BBC Suffolk.
