Scarborough supermarket junction approved

It's to ease traffic at Morrison's and McDonald's in Eastfield.

Author: Local Democracy Reporter, Carl GavaghanPublished 2nd Aug 2021

A new roundabout, to help shoppers and fast food fans avoid large queues in Scarborough, has been approved.

Morrisons has been granted permission by Scarborough Borough Council to create a new entrance to its store in Eastfield off Dunslow Road, which shares a roundabout in Market Lane with a McDonald’s restaurant and drive-thru.

Morrisons will now put in a new filter lane for people who want to turn left into McDonald’s, rather than right, into the supermarket car park.

The permission was granted by council planning officers, under delegated powers after no objections to the scheme were received.

In its planning application to Scarborough Council, Morrisons stated that it anticipated that the traffic situation would get worse when new Costa and KFC drive-thrus open, next to McDonald’s, later this year.

The planning submission stated:

“The current access arrangements cause issues with vehicles accessing and queuing back from the western arm into McDonald’s, which will be further exacerbated when the two additional drive thru’s are in operation, in turn preventing vehicles from accessing the Morrisons store.

“The proposed enhancements include alterations to the mini-roundabout to provide an additional lane on the approach from the south, which would allow vehicles to turn into McDonald’s to the left, and Morrisons either straight on or right at the same time.”

Long queues back onto the main road are a common sight for people trying to access the supermarket, especially during the lockdown when only the McDonald’s drive-thru was open, meaning shoppers and those wanting to pick up their fast food were left in the same gridlock.

North Yorkshire County Council Highways did not object to the proposals, while Seamer Parish Council gave the scheme its backing.

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