New McDonald’s drive thru for motorway services

A motorway services in Worcestershire will be getting a new McDonald’s drive thru.

The southbound Strensham services, near junction 8 of the M5, will add a drive thru lane at the side of the existing building.

The development is hoped to bring an additional 40 jobs to the site – 16 full-time employees and 24 part-time.

Parts of the car park will be reconfigured and a small extension to the fast food restaurant itself will be built to accommodate a new corridor and area to serve drive thru customers.

“Two new drive thru windows are also proposed on the southern elevation of the amenity building and will introduce side-by-side ordering,” plans for the development stated.

“Importantly, the operation will be strictly controlled and allow cars to order meals, and then approach the collection point and obtain the correct order.”

Wychavon District Council said: “The works are fairly minor in the overall context of the site and include a small extension to the much larger main amenity building.

“In addition, the works are positioned well within the limits of the site, which is well screened by mature planting and will have no significant impact on the wider landscape.

“The works are commercial in nature and in that respect complement the character of the immediate surroundings within an established motorway services area.”

Strensham Parish Council raised concerns about the increased amount of litter the drive thru would cause and suggested vehicle registration capture on packaging to deter fly tipping.

National Highways had concerns over how queuing traffic would be managed at busy times, as well as a lack of litter bins in the area.

Planning documents suggest 16 new bins will be placed around the services site.

A total of 83 parking spaces will be displaced by the construction of the drive thru lane, with 50 being relocated elsewhere on the site.