Good news on McDonald's drive-through on Cycle Superhighway

Some very good news. The McDonald’s planning decision is going back to Ealing Council’s Planning Committee. This time the officers' recommendation is to refuse planning permission. The reason for the new recommendation is that the status of the East-West Cycle Superhighway changed only a few hours before the planning committee meeting.  On the morning of 4th February the TfL board approved the East-West Cycle Superhighway, meaning that the number of cyclists using the route past McDonald's was likely to be significantly more than originally anticipated. However this information wasn't passed on to council officers before the planning committee meeting on the evening of 4th Feb, in which councillors originally approved the scheme. The officers' view now is that the "proposed location of the access from Western Avenue poses a significant conflict to working arrangements of the Cycle Superhighway and the safety of cyclists and vehicles and it is for this reason that it is therefore recommended that planning permission should be refused." The officers consider that Ealing Cycling Campaign's recommendation that access and egress could be made via Leamington Park would be a feasible solution, but so far McDonald's have not been prepared to change their plans to accommodate this. The planning committee will make their decision on Wednesday 18th March.