January 12, 2022 2.30 pm This story is over 25 months old

Amended plans approved for Taco Bell at former Pizza Hut in Grantham

A new application was submitted without a drive-thru element

Plans have been approved for a Taco Bell at the site of a former Pizza Hut restaurant in Grantham, three months after an application was rejected due to traffic concerns.

Lionacre Properties, through Pegasus Group, submitted an application to South Kesteven District Council last summer to convert the building on London Road into a restaurant with a drive-thru.

However, in September 2021 the application was rejected as the council said “the proposed development would significantly increase the amount of traffic at the Gainsborough Corner junction resulting in an unacceptable impact on the highways network”.

Another application was submitted to the council in October last year for the partial demolition and conversion of the Pizza Hut restaurant. The revised application addressed the previous reason for refusal and no longer included the drive-thru element.

Instead, the plans only comprise of one drive-to restaurant unit, but still involves demolition works to part of the building to the north and east to “allow for the reoccupation by a new restaurant operator” – Taco Bell.

Proposed external elevations. Design: Frank Belshaw Building Surveyors Limited/Taco Bell

The proposed works will result in less floorspace than the existing building. Application documents state that it will “no longer have an unacceptable impact on the highways network, in terms of capacity and adverse impact on highway safety, due to the removal of the drive- thru element of the proposal”.

Planning permission was granted for the re-submitted application on December 20, 2021 subject to two conditions. Firstly, the development must be commenced before the expiration of three years from the date of the application being approved. The development must also be carried out in accordance with a list of approved plans.

The plans for a new Taco Bell comes after the Mexican-style fast food restaurant opened outlets last year in Scunthorpe and two in Lincoln.