Work begins on building Nelson's first 24-hour drive-thru McDonald's restaurant

Diggers have already set to work on preparing the ground for the famous fast food chain’s first outlet in Nelson, on the site of the former bus station and multi-storey car park.

As revealed in the Burnley Express in July, McDonald’s confirmed the sale of the former multi-storey car park site at Broadway, and expect the business to open later this year.

The development has been a long process with permission granted in April, 2019, to bulldoze the former car park to make way for the new McDonald’s. However, the Express reported again in February this year that no headway had been made on the potential opening of the outlet in the three years since.

It is believed that the Covid pandemic was one of the reasons for the delay.

The new McDonald’s restaurant is expected to create 20 full-time and 40 part-time jobs, according to plans previously approved by Pendle Borough Council. Parking space is earmarked for 40 cars.

The drive-thru restaurant planning application was submitted by Future Properties Limited with agent Campbell Driver Partnership, an architecture and design firm in Blackburn.

A spokesman for Future Properties Limited, which owns the nearby Pendle Rise shopping mall, said in July: “This is fantastic news for Nelson. The formal handover is done. This sale represents an important investment in the town centre. The new McDonald’s restaurant will attract people into the town and also help wider changes taking place.”