Fancy a bargain bucket at 2.30am? One Southend KFC could soon be serving fried chicken into the early hours after plans to extend its drive-thru opening times were approved.
KFC at Greyhound Trading Park, off Greyhound Way in Southend, has been granted conditional planning permission to operate its drive-thru until 3am, seven days a week, despite concerns from nearby residents about late-night noise and antisocial behaviour.
Southend-on-Sea City Council considered the application at its Planning Committee meeting on Wednesday 14 October, following objections about vehicles gathering in the retail park and causing disturbances.
Under the new arrangements, the restaurant would continue to open to walk-in customers from 10.30am until 11pm, but its kitchen and drive-thru could remain operational until 3am for motorists and third-party food delivery drivers.
Residents raise concerns about late-night noise
The application attracted representations from 11 interested parties after 94 neighbouring properties were notified.
Residents raised concerns about traffic, pollution, litter, loud music from vehicles and antisocial behaviour in the car park.
Some reported that existing late-night activity was already affecting their sleep and quality of life, with fears that extending KFC’s opening hours could make the situation worse.
The council’s planning report acknowledged that longer opening hours could attract additional visitors to the site late at night.
However, officers explained that antisocial behaviour was not, in itself, a material planning consideration. They said incidents involving groups gathering and causing nuisance should be investigated by the council’s Community Safety Unit, while certain vehicle-related disturbances were matters for the police.
Although the concerns were considered, planning officers concluded that they did not provide sufficient grounds to refuse permission.
No customer parking after 11pm
To discourage drivers from hanging around after collecting food, KFC has submitted a Car Park Management Plan setting out restrictions for the extended opening hours.
Between 11pm and 3am, customers and delivery drivers will be prohibited from parking, with parking reserved for staff.
Traffic cones and other physical measures will restrict access to the wider car park closest to homes in the Southpoint apartment building.
The site’s existing automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) system will also remain in operation, with the maximum permitted stay reduced from two hours to just 10 minutes between 11pm and 3am.
The carpark on the KFC and Matalan side of the Greyhound Retail Park is monitored and enforced by Parkingeye.
Other measures include CCTV monitoring, signs reminding customers to respect nearby residents, and “staff intervention” where vehicles remain on site contrary to the parking arrangements.
The management plan also includes procedures for recording and reviewing complaints, with further measures to be considered if problems arise.
What about the potential noise?
An acoustic assessment submitted with the application examined the potential impact of vehicles using the drive-thru and noise from the restaurant’s kitchen extraction system.
The assessment was based on an estimated maximum of 10 vehicles per hour during the extended opening period.
It concluded that the combined noise from the restaurant’s operations would remain below existing background noise levels at the nearest residential properties.
The closest homes on Sutton Road are approximately 24 metres from the KFC building.
However, KFC will be required to install noise-reduction equipment on its kitchen extraction system before the extended opening hours can begin.
A further acoustic survey must then demonstrate that the measures meet the required noise limits, with the results submitted to the council for approval.
The council’s Environmental Health team reported that it had no recorded noise-related complaints concerning the site since its records began in 2013, although residents raised concerns during the planning consultation.
Extra litter controls also required
KFC will also have to follow a litter management policy, including regular inspections and litter collections within the site and surrounding areas covered by the policy.
The restaurant already has eight customer waste bins, which planning officers considered sufficient for the anticipated level of additional activity.
Officers concluded that the extended hours would support Southend’s evening economy, offer customers more choice and allow the existing restaurant to make greater use of its premises.
The application, reference 26/00865/AMDT, changes an opening-hours condition attached to the original planning permission granted in December 2010.
Although permission has been granted, the new hours are subject to conditions, including the installation and verification of noise mitigation equipment and implementation of the parking management measures.
No confirmed date for the start of 3am opening has been established.
So, Southend could soon be serving bargain buckets well into the early hours, but with parking restrictions and noise controls, the late-night chicken run will come with a few extra rules.