Welshpool Town Council has continued to object to the proposed drive-thru in Buttington as Burger King remains tight-lipped on the project.

The burger giant appears likely to follow Greggs in pulling out of a proposed drive-thru development at Moors Farm near the A483 at Buttington, but Welshpool Town Council has reiterated its opposition to the project.

At a meeting of the council’s planning committee, councillors discussed a new application to amend the project, asking for planning permission to remove the drive-thru unit which would have housed Burger King from the plans and replace it with two smaller units.

The County Times has contacted Burger King for comment on its plans to move to the town but has not yet received a response.

Councillors were initially confused over what changes the amendment was requesting to make, but town mayor Cllr Phil Owen clarified that the application was to replace of the drive thru unit and remove the drive-thru lane.

READ MORE: Doubts cast over Burger King move to Welshpool

Cllr Ben Gwalchmai said: “It is as the mayor says, the main point is that it seems to be going from a drive-thru to not being a drive-thru.

“We have historically, as we were requested to by the people of Buttington, completely objected to this as Powys have overridden our wishes many times.

“I propose we vote against it again and make it clear this shouldn’t be happening. The people of Buttington don’t want it as they believe it will bring environmental and social destruction, as well as more traffic. I propose we reject it.”

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Other councillors in the chamber agreed unanimously to reject the application, having opposed the proposal based on concerns over the possibility of traffic congestion, the flow of vehicles in the area, an increase of pollution and litter, as well as fears over drawing trade and tourism away from Welshpool’s town centre throughout the project’s history.

Councillors have also noted throughout the process that they have felt Welshpool’s requests and objections have been “ignored” by Powys County Council.

Previous meetings had made proposals to ignore further proposals relating to the project, with Cllr Alison Davies saying in September 2023: “I think we should decline to comment, as we have already objected to the project and have been ignored at every turn, despite Powys Council's Towns First policy.”

Despite this, other councillors felt it was important to repeat their objections, as Cllr Gwalchmai explained: “Though I agree with the points raised I do think it’s still important to make our objections clear, especially as the people of Buttington have made their objections clear.”