But the land management company for the owners previously admitted no firms pitched viable proposals to construct them.

Now, developer Hallam Land has applied to build a drive-thru restaurant instead on the 7.4-acre parcel of land, as well as an extra 100 homes and further care accommodation.

The fresh application reveals an offer was lodged by McDonald’s during a marketing campaign between May and November 2018.

The fast food giant wanted to purchase 1.05 acres for drive-thru use and the firm provided a draft layout.

“Interest remains strong due to market demand and suitability of location,” it said.

Euro Garages also made an offer of £1.95 million, subject to planning permission, for three acres, with proposed uses including a petrol station, EV charging and two drive-thru units.

Henry Davidson Developments proposed a joint venture to deliver – but not limited to – extra care or senior living facilities, retail with potential homes above, drive-thru food or coffee, a pub, a petrol station and a day nursery.

An agent expressed interest on behalf of drive-thru operators McDonald’s and Starbucks during another marketing campaign between December 2018 and December 2020.

Planning documents add several commercial developers who specialise in the delivery of mixed-use commercial schemes tabled expressions of interest, such as drive-thru cafes and restaurants.

“Continued interest was received directly from parties such as McDonald's, Starbucks, EG Group and Welcome Break,” the application states.

By December 2022, no formal offers had been received for occupiers or developers looking to develop the site into offices for employment use in a “viable and deliverable manner”.

Firms continued to express and lodge fresh interest for several uses, including senior living, drive-thru cafes and restaurants, a food store, petrol filling stations, EV charging hubs, day nurseries and trade counters.

Then in 2023, a further marketing campaign was launched, during which two formal bids were received along with nine expressions of interest.

Following interviews, one party was selected as a preferred purchaser, which has not been named in planning documents.

But in June last year, the firm withdrew their interest, citing “significant unknown costs”.

The Perry Court site was allocated in the Swale Local Plan – the council’s housing blueprint – while outline planning permission was granted in 2017 for a mixed-use development comprising up to 310 homes, a hotel, a care home and three gypsy pitches.

A large part of the development has already been built, including the homes, a hotel, a care home and an Aldi store.

Meanwhile, 13.8 of the 15 hectares of open space required under the original consent have been laid out, with developers planning to allocate the remaining 1.2 hectares in this new application.

The fresh bid relates to an area earmarked for up to three hectares of employment use, together with a two-hectare employment reserve site, which formed part of the previously approved outline planning application.

“Despite extensive marketing, the landowners have not been able to dispose of the site for the specified uses,” planning documents submitted by Hallam reveal.

Vehicle and pedestrian access will be from the north of the site via Tettenhall Way.

Several disgruntled residents have lodged objections over the past few weeks.

One person claimed it would create noise, smells and visual disturbance, and wrote: “Building work right in front of our house would have an extremely negative impact on us and our young children.

“We have already lived with a building site office directly next to our house for about three years.

“It would have a negative effect on our mental health to go through it again.”

Another claims a drive-thru would create pollution and excessive traffic.

“Why do we need fast food chains and more restaurants here in this beautiful town location?

“There are clearly ideal locations for development on either side of the motorway to Dover, where original commercial and hotel units lie empty.

“The installation of a large chain and drive-thru restaurants will only have a negative impact on our local business, driving the beautiful town to become a sea of deserted empty units itself.”

Town councillor Trevor Martin says the site is “ripe for development” given the surrounding housebuilding which has happened recently.

“If a chain restaurant were to be located closer to Faversham, it would allow deliveries, which would create more jobs for local people,” the Liberal Democrat said.

“But having delivery services could increase traffic and we’d have to think about that regarding any chain coming into the area.

“Faversham has been fiercely independent for years and local people tend to fill the gaps.”

Town councillors were set to discuss the application last night to provide feedback to Swale Borough Council.

KentOnline asked McDonald’s if it is keen to open its first branch in Faversham.

“We are always on the lookout for suitable locations and are currently exploring a number of opportunities in the wider area,” a spokesperson for the burger chain said.

The town’s closest McDonald’s are in Sittingbourne, Chestfield and Canterbury, while plans were approved last month to open a new franchise nearby.

The fast-food chain tabled plans in 2023 to launch at the London-bound Gate Services at Dunkirk, between Faversham and Canterbury, on the site of a former Travelodge.

But it was approved despite residents’ claims there is “no need” for one.

Faversham resident Sarah Moakes attended to tell members they should instead refuse the plans, saying: “We’re not loving it.

“A 24-hour McDonald’s drive-thru is an entirely different proposition; they attract horrendous traffic, especially at tea time, and are magnets for antisocial behaviour.”

She argued the new restaurant would be an “unmitigated disaster”.