Plans to open a new McDonald’s restaurant on the site of a former Travelodge are on the verge of being approved despite fears over traffic and smells.

The fast-food giant tabled plans in 2023 to launch at the A2 London-bound Gate Services at Dunkirk, between Faversham and Canterbury.

If given the green light, the 79-seater eatery will also act as a drive-thru for motorists, neighbouring a Costa drive-thru that opened last year.

Ahead of a planning committee meeting tonight, Swale Borough Council officers have recommended the application be approved.

Dunkirk Parish Council is among those to have objected to the proposals, with traffic concerns one of several issues raised.

Residents fear vehicles using the Costa, McDonald’s and a petrol station at the site will cross each other.

They are also concerned that queues could back up onto the A2, which could cause crashes, and that there could be an increase in the number of motorists travelling through Boughton-under-Blean and Dunkirk.

Local resident Reece Brett is also worried about noise and light pollution, and that the development could devalue his house.

“We have been informed that our property value can decrease by between 20% and 25% by simply having a McDonald’s nearby,” he said.

“It is reduced further by the smell putting off potential buyers.”

Paula Hall also objected, raising similar concerns, such as litter, light pollution, noise and smells wafting from the restaurant.

“We already have issues with HGVs parking and leaving rubbish, including bodily waste,” she said.

“Would the addition of a 24-hour food outlet encourage more HGVs to stay overnight and leave more rubbish, as well as parking to slip back on to the A2, which has previously been bollarded to stop parking?

“A number of the bollards have been driven over and damaged by vehicles.”

The transport assessment states the scheme would result in 70 extra vehicles before midday and 77 between noon and midnight, while there will be an increase of 121 during Saturday peak hours. This will equate to up to two additional vehicles per minute.

SBC says highways bosses agree the restaurant “would not have an unacceptable impact” on the safety of the route, as they predict the majority of visitors to the McDonald’s “would be generated from existing trips” along the A2.

“It is considered that the proposal would not create a situation that would result in significant risks to highway safety or the efficient functioning of the local highway network,” the council officers said.

The scheme could see 30 full-time and 90 part-time jobs created.

In total, 37 parking spaces – four of which would provide EV charging facilities – would be provided in addition to two disability bays and four motorcycle spots.

“The proposals provide the opportunity for McDonald’s to meet a long-standing requirement for a restaurant to serve this catchment area, to meet customer demand and introduce additional choice in the market,” the application states.

“The proposed development represents a multi-million-pound investment creating jobs both during the construction and operation phases, resulting in many associated economic benefits for the local area.

“The site represents an appropriate location for a drive-thru restaurant, which will be well placed to offer refreshments to passing customers and those in the surrounding area.”

Costa opened at the site in April last year – with the scheme being granted planning approval in October 2022.

The landowner, Motor Fuel Ltd, which runs the adjacent Esso garage, had previously applied for permission to launch a new coffee shop at the rear of the filling station, which was approved.

However, it opted instead to sympathetically convert the old coaching house, adding a small extension for the drive-thru.

The Grade II-listed building at Gate Services was a Little Chef between 1986 and 2005, before becoming Sheila’s Kitchen, a diner.

The disused Travelodge was torn down in late 2023.